The whistleblower is dead can Boeing planes fly safely again?

On March 12th local time, the BBC released the latest news that a former Boeing employee was found dead in a hotel parking lot in the United States on March 9th, and the incident is currently under investigation. The report states that the former employee raised concerns about Boeing's production standards and safety issues in the days leading up to his death.

The employee is 62 year old John Barnett, who worked at Boeing for 32 years until his retirement in 2017 due to health reasons. It is reported that he played the role of a whistleblower in the legal lawsuit against Boeing.

According to reports, since 2010, Barnett has been serving as a quality manager at the Boeing 787 Dreamliner production plant in North Charleston, South Carolina. He told the BBC in 2019 that "under pressure" workers have been deliberately installing non-standard parts on the production line for airplanes. He said that shortly after working in South Carolina, he began to worry that the manufacturing pressure of the new aircraft meant that the assembly process was rushed and safety was also affected.

In fact, as early as 2016, Barnett was known as the "Boeing Whistleblower". At that time, John Barnett served as the quality manager of Boeing's North Charleston factory. After discovering that a quarter of the oxygen system of the Boeing 787 had failed, he reported it to management without success. As a whistleblower, he stepped forward to report it to the FAA. After receiving the report, FAA showed a handling attitude towards Boeing that did not even impose a "three cup fine".

According to external analysis, it is precisely because of this that John Barnett retired from Boeing at the age of 55 in 2017. After all, the retirement age in the United States was 65 years old at that time, and retiring at 55 years old was truly "early retirement". However, after being suppressed, Barnett did not give up. In 2019, taking advantage of the Boeing 737 MAX scandal, he once again exposed the incident and finally attracted global attention. Barnett also became a representative and flag of Boeing whistleblowers.

Barnett once told the BBC that Boeing workers did not follow the relevant component tracking procedures, resulting in the loss of defective components. In some cases, components that do not meet the standards may even be picked up from the trash can and reinstalled on the aircraft being manufactured to prevent production delays.

In addition, Barnett has repeatedly exposed to the media and the public how Boeing cut corners, intentionally installed substandard components, and how a quarter of its breathing masks did not work in emergency situations.

At the time of Barnett's mysterious death, Boeing was receiving attention and questioning from the outside world due to safety accidents involving multiple aircraft models. In March of this year, United Airlines Boeing aircraft experienced multiple accidents including engine fires, tire slippage, and runway slippage.

On March 11th local time, a Boeing 787-9 aircraft operated by Latham Airways from Sydney, Australia to Auckland, New Zealand experienced technical issues. During the flight, it made a sharp descent and made a "severe dive" for a few seconds, causing passengers to collide with the cockpit roof and injuring at least 50 people.

Barnett's bizarre death has attracted widespread global attention due to numerous doubts: through the second 737 MAX scandal, Barnett finally had the opportunity to go to court with Boeing and has appeared in court for questioning. Why did he choose to commit suicide during the trial? This lawsuit against Boeing is of great significance to him, and can even be said to provide an explanation for his past seven years of life. At such a critical juncture, why did he end his life?

It has to be said that the timing of Barnett's "suicide" is too sensitive: when the Boeing whistleblower's "suicide" coincides with the US Department of Justice's launch of the Boeing crime investigation, it is difficult not to raise suspicion from the outside world.

Analysts have pointed out that if he really committed suicide, how desperate would he be towards the current situation in the United States and Boeing? If he was "killed", then what force wants him to shut up? How huge is the force that can cover up the sky with one hand?

Yes, if you can't solve the problem, you can solve the problem. This has always been a very American drama, but in fact, reality is more like American drama. This is very American, and it is the United States, which claims to be the lighthouse of freedom and democracy worldwide.