Boeing whistleblower’s elderly mother weeps as she describes how he was ‘bullied’ into suicide and had no intention of ‘bringing the company down’ but was relentlessly embarrassed and retaliated against for raising safety concerns
The heartbroken mother of the Boeing whistleblower who died by suicide has partly blamed the embattled company for his death.
John Barnett, 62, was found dead in his truck from a single gunshot to the head in a South Carolina hotel parking lot on March 9 — seven years after he retired from a 32-year career.
He was in town to attend meetings as part of his lawsuit against Boeing, where he claimed they retaliated against him for raising concerns about the company’s quality control.
Barnett’s mother Vicky Stokes and brother Rodney Barnett spoke to CBS on Thursday and gave their side of the story. They said the stress of the battle with Boeing was tough on Barnett.
When asked if she blamed Boeing for Barnett’s death, she added, “If this hadn’t gone on for so long, I would still have my son, my son would still have their brother and we would don’t sit here.’
Barnett’s mother, Boeing whistleblower mother Vicky Stokes and brother Rodney Barnett spoke to CBS on Thursday and gave their side of the story
Barnett, 62, was found dead in his truck from a single gunshot to the head in the parking lot of a South Carolina hotel on March 9
The family said Barnett did his job for 30 years but became concerned after he was transferred to Boeing’s South Carolina plant in 2010 and noticed quality problems and procedures that were not being followed.
Stokes said Boeing retaliated after Barnett made his concerns public, and that the whistleblower subsequently often felt embarrassed at work meetings where he would be “called out” before leaving the job in 2017, citing work-related stress.
“I would do that to anyone after seven or eight years,” the mother said.
When asked if they believe Barnett’s death was a suicide, his brother said the family is waiting until the investigation is over to make a judgment.
Barnett’s attorney Brian Knowles told CBS that “the retaliation he faced was something he had to endure on an ongoing basis.”
“He wasn’t trying to hurt Boeing, he was trying to save Boeing,” the family’s attorney, Robert Turkewitz, added.
The family added that they want Barnett’s legacy to be that Boeing addresses the safety issues he spoke about.
Barnett’s death came during a lull in depositions in a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit alleging that workers under pressure deliberately fitted substandard parts to aircraft on an assembly line.
He said that in some cases, second-rate parts were literally pulled from scrap bins before being fitted to aircraft under construction to avoid delays. A 2017 review by the FAA confirmed some of its concerns, prompting Boeing to take action.
The family said Barnett did his job for 30 years but became concerned after he was transferred to Boeing’s South Carolina plant in 2010 and noticed quality problems.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun is finally stepping down as head of the troubled airline
Earlier this week, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun announced he would step down at the end of the year in the wake of a safety crisis at the troubled aerospace giant.
The company has been hit by problems, including a near-catastrophic incident on January 5, when a fuselage panel on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 aircraft blew off mid-flight.
Since then, the company has faced questions following several other potentially dangerous episodes, but regulators, airlines and passengers have been frustrated by Calhoun’s lack of answers.
Last week, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration blasted Boeing for focusing on “production” instead of “safety and quality.”
Administrator Michael Whitaker was unimpressed with the aerospace giant after visiting its facilities.
“My impressions were similar to the culture review that was just completed at Boeing and our audit, which is that there are issues surrounding the safety culture at Boeing,” he told Lester Holt on NBC Nightly News in a segment airing Tuesday night.
Alaska Airlines has resumed service on the Boeing 737 MAX 9 after a three-week shutdown in the aftermath of an emergency landing on January 5
On January 5, a panel blew out of the fuselage of a 737 Max 9 plane carrying Alaska Airlines passengers
‘Their priorities were production, and not safety and quality. So what we’re really focused on now is shifting that focus, from production to safety and quality.’
The FAA has been keeping a close eye on the company and recently ordered an audit of the assembly lines at a Boeing plant near Seattle, where the company builds planes such as the Alaska Airlines 737 Max that has a blowout in the door panels incurred.
No one was seriously injured during the flight to Alaska, but the plane had to make an emergency landing with a gaping hole in the cabin.
Investigators say bolts that help hold the panel in place were missing after repair work at the Boeing factory.
The incident has raised attention on Boeing to its highest level since two crashes of Boeing 737 Max jets in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.