Family sues Boeing over whistleblower death

The family of John Barnett, the Boeing whistleblower who died by suicide last year, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company. The lawsuit alleges that Boeing harassed, abused, and humiliated Mr. Barnett for raising concerns about safety issues. The family believes that the company's actions were a "clear and foreseeable cause" of Mr. Barnett's death, highlighting the immense pressure he faced.

Mr. Barnett's mother, Vicky Stokes, along with his brothers Rodney and Michael, are representing his estate in filing the 146-page lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in South Carolina. It attributes his death to Boeing's actions, including retaliatory actions by managers that constituted a "hostile work environment," further detailing the impact of these actions.

The lawsuit states that Mr. Barnett was a dedicated and idealistic employee who "took seriously his role of protecting the flying public" and "believed he had a personal, legal and moral obligation to ensure that… every possible defect was identified, documented and remedied." The lawsuit details how he was harassed, belittled, humiliated, and ostracized, as well as being excluded from investigations he was working on and being prohibited from transferring to other quality control positions within the company, thus illustrating the systematic nature of the alleged mistreatment.

Mr. Barnett retired early from Boeing in March 2017. The lawsuit claims that he was suffering from depression and severe anxiety at the time, and that he knew he was going to be fired. The lawsuit also claims that the company continued to put pressure on him, such as preventing friends who continued to work there from contacting him. Evidence supporting the claims includes an email in which he wrote, "Boeing has completely destroyed my view of life," and his handwritten suicide note, which read, "I can't take it anymore!! Enough!!" showing the profound despair he experienced.

John Barnett worked at Boeing for 32 years. Beginning in 2010, he served as a quality manager at Boeing's North Charleston, South Carolina, plant. The plant manufactures the 787 Dreamliner, an advanced passenger jet primarily used for long-haul routes. During his time at the plant, Mr. Barnett repeatedly raised concerns with management about violations of safety procedures and defects in aircraft on the production line. He later took his concerns to the media. Boeing denied his claims. However, a review conducted in 2017 by the U.S. regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), did substantiate some of Mr. Barnett's concerns and ordered Boeing to take remedial action.

Boeing said in a brief statement: "We are saddened by Mr. John Barnett's passing, and our thoughts are with his family." Previously, the company had rebutted the allegations made against it, telling the BBC: "Boeing reviewed and addressed the quality issues raised by Mr. Barnett prior to his retirement in 2017, as well as other quality issues raised in the complaint. Engineering analysis determined that the issues he raised did not compromise airplane safety." The company also drew attention to a previous ruling in 2020 in Mr. Barnett's case, in which the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that the company had not violated whistleblower protection laws.