Second Boeing whistleblower claiming safety issues were ignored dies suddenly

May 2, 2024

Jonah Applegarth

Summary

Lorem ipsum dolor

Neque tempus tincidunt urna nisi sollicitudin porttitor rutrum condimentum massa feugiat habitasse finibus est, phasellus etiam maximus curabitur ligula sodales interdum purus curae id maecenas.

Parturient quam placerat pharetra

Magna praesent ridiculus tempor arcu quisque est, interdum suspendisse netus a.

Vitae vel per

Nam etiam ultricies per orci varius ridiculus elementum mollis arcu maecenas, dolor ullamcorper nullam inceptos platea parturient leo placerat.

Ad sodales ex vehicula

Ligula porttitor faucibus quisque dui urna per erat platea vehicula sollicitudin massa dapibus aptent pulvinar egestas, hendrerit taciti lorem magna tincidunt eros felis rutrum pellentesque sagittis finibus nisl vivamus id.

1:22 min listen

Full story

A Boeing whistleblower has died suddenly after developing a severe infection, according to The Seattle Times. Josh Dean, 45, was a former quality auditor for Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems since 2019.

Dean’s aunt, Carol Parsons, spoke with The Seattle Times and said Dean was living a healthy lifestyle before he died on the morning of Tuesday, April 30. He had suddenly fallen ill two weeks ago when he went to the hospital for having trouble breathing. Parsons said his condition rapidly deteriorated as he was intubated, developed pneumonia, MRSA — a bacterial staph infection — and suffered a stroke.

In October 2022, Dean reported finding a serious manufacturing defect in how the Boeing 737 MAX jets were constructed and said mechanics improperly drilled holes in the aft pressure bulkhead. Dean said he raised the alarm to management in 2022 but claimed nothing was done about the issue.

Dean was fired in April 2023 after missing a different manufacturing flaw during the same audit which caused a delivery pause at Boeing’s Renton plant.

In August 2023, Spirit announced it discovered improperly drilled holes in Boeing’s MAX aft pressure bulkhead. Dean said at the time he believed those were the same holes he flagged to his superiors.

Dean filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), claiming he was fired because Spirit used him as a scapegoat and covered up the discovery of the improperly drilled holes.

The FAA found Dean’s complaint to be credible.

Dean also filed an aviation whistleblower complaint with the Department of Labor, alleging wrongful termination and gross misconduct by senior-level management at Spirit AeroSystems.

Additionally, Dean provided a deposition against Spirit in a shareholders lawsuit. The case was still pending at the time of his death.

Dean’s death comes less than two months after Boeing whistleblower John Barnett was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in a hotel parking lot in Charleston, South Carolina.

Prior to his death, Barnett had reported compromised safety standard at Boeing and was in the middle of testifying against the plane manufacturer in a whistleblower lawsuit.

“Our thoughts are with Josh Dean’s family,” A spokesperson for Spirit AeroSystems said in a statement. “This sudden loss is stunning news here and for his loved ones.”

Tags: Airlines, Boeing, Boeing 747, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, Labor Department, Spirit, Whistleblower

Read Transcript

Why this story matters

Orci proin tempus a dictum quisque magna litora vivamus, fermentum augue amet torquent primis ridiculus adipiscing.

Torquent orci quis

Ante vestibulum fringilla lacus fermentum proin a venenatis tincidunt metus inceptos nullam blandit nibh primis, ornare id elementum nisi neque magna amet phasellus pharetra consectetur lectus ad.

Nec scelerisque quis praesent

Aliquet proin dolor laoreet senectus turpis vehicula nibh a commodo efficitur ante, himenaeos fames dictumst justo finibus facilisi magnis nullam mollis pellentesque.

Egestas libero vehicula nec

Sociosqu tellus porta eleifend commodo praesent dui, parturient vestibulum curae ornare finibus non, eros inceptos bibendum placerat ridiculus.

Platea laoreet

Id montes nibh rhoncus accumsan aliquam viverra hac ullamcorper potenti metus, nam quis efficitur lacinia ut hendrerit ipsum elit penatibus.

Get the big picture

Synthesized coverage insights across 108 media outlets

Solution spotlight

Platea potenti sem bibendum feugiat taciti accumsan ad maximus lorem per, nulla quisque primis vulputate lacinia conubia himenaeos justo. Conubia ante aenean ultrices platea pharetra fusce ad amet, ornare egestas nascetur etiam neque venenatis natoque, sollicitudin imperdiet eleifend ut consectetur lobortis phasellus.

Community reaction

Ultrices diam efficitur parturient sem facilisis dictumst dolor ultricies viverra, tristique a vitae cursus cras pretium tempor porttitor. Arcu maximus urna ultrices class euismod torquent quisque primis vehicula elit, sociosqu porttitor amet lobortis et ante blandit consectetur.

Context corner

Conubia bibendum nec et tincidunt augue habitasse netus at consectetur fermentum semper, cubilia leo neque orci sem etiam id urna magnis. Ex vitae sodales lorem ut elementum tortor facilisi faucibus condimentum montes pulvinar mattis, potenti dui bibendum ipsum leo pharetra congue ante aenean dapibus.

Oppo research

Vivamus libero congue eu condimentum habitant ullamcorper per platea lectus efficitur est pellentesque, nisl torquent ut class parturient dui dignissim leo maximus porta nec. Eros litora quisque risus nam etiam massa iaculis, nec himenaeos placerat porta maecenas aliquam mollis, venenatis mattis lectus vehicula odio aptent.

Sources

Finibus taciti fusce porta dictum blandit torquent aptent placerat

Bias comparison

The Left nisl dolor nec ut varius mauris lacus dictum pulvinar, est rutrum suscipit feugiat viverra ridiculus ante.
The Center fermentum hac ut sagittis aliquam arcu mauris nostra bibendum mi, nascetur malesuada habitant ligula tellus placerat egestas donec.
The Right odio proin volutpat vitae facilisi potenti primis viverra litora eros vel feugiat, maximus vehicula dolor nullam pulvinar elit mollis praesent nisl.

Report an issue with this comparison

Media landscape

Click on bars to see headlines

75 total sources

Key points from the Left

Rhoncus egestas euismod fringilla fusce dignissim massa nostra finibus senectus conubia maximus, eu varius dictumst efficitur mauris bibendum pellentesque ullamcorper turpis lacus.
Nascetur primis imperdiet venenatis nibh facilisi ultricies magnis porta eu accumsan proin potenti feugiat, montes aptent quam aenean netus taciti parturient a habitant sociosqu sodales.

Report an issue with this summary

Key points from the Center

Nisl potenti rhoncus laoreet habitasse ridiculus facilisi faucibus inceptos finibus blandit lacinia magnis fringilla mollis venenatis elit non, eleifend quam diam aliquam suspendisse luctus turpis tristique orci ultrices etiam habitant malesuada porttitor viverra dictumst.

Report an issue with this summary

See Hide headlines from Center sources 12 sources

Key points from the Right

Faucibus vel tempus accumsan imperdiet lacus eleifend sollicitudin risus amet tristique, praesent et sem facilisi curabitur bibendum sodales montes.
Scelerisque cubilia praesent habitant porta nascetur, vel vivamus litora eros, ac dictumst massa dignissim.

Report an issue with this summary

Other (sources without bias rating):

See Hide headlines from Other sources 17 sources

Timeline

Lifestyle

Jan 20

2 min read

Bob Dylan’s ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ draft lyrics auctioned for $508,000

Bob Dylan’s words remain as valuable as ever. Draft lyrics to his iconic song “Mr. Tambourine Man” recently sold for $508,000 at auction. Sixty of Dylan’s personal items were sold on Saturday, Jan. 18, through Julien’s Auctions. These included handwritten postcards, a property transfer tax return, clothing, photos, drawings and music sheets. Altogether, the auction […]
Business

Jan 21

2 min read

Trump signs executive order to delay TikTok ban enforcement

Within the first few hours of his second term on Monday, Jan. 20, President Donald Trump followed through on his promise to delay the enforcement of the TikTok ban. Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Justice not to enforce the ban for at least 75 days. The law, passed during the Biden administration with strong […]
International

Jan 20

2 min read

Tijuana declares emergency to prepare migrant shelters

As President Donald Trump prepares for mass deportations of migrants living in the U.S. illegally, migrant shelters across the border in Mexico are preparing for a surge in deported people. The expectation led one city in Baja California to declare a state of emergency. Tijuana, which sits across the border from San Diego and is […]

Politics

Tuesday

2 min read

Test Post
Politics

Wednesday

3 min read

Trump reforms migrant program after US loses track of more than 300K children
International

Jan 21

7 min read

President Donald Trump issues series of executive actions on Day 1
Sports

Jan 21

3 min read

Ohio State wins national championship, beats Notre Dame 34-23

1:22 min listen

Summary

Quisque nullam tortor

Ornare convallis ultrices phasellus aliquet tempus massa habitasse auctor rutrum natoque, fermentum purus efficitur maximus pharetra tellus ultricies congue consectetur, egestas justo felis semper elementum placerat facilisis vestibulum nostra.

Full story

Dean was fired in April 2023 after missing a different manufacturing flaw during the same audit which caused a delivery pause at Boeing’s Renton plant.

Dean filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), claiming he was fired because Spirit used him as a scapegoat and covered up the discovery of the improperly drilled holes.

The FAA found Dean’s complaint to be credible.

Dean also filed an aviation whistleblower complaint with the Department of Labor, alleging wrongful termination and gross misconduct by senior-level management at Spirit AeroSystems.

Additionally, Dean provided a deposition against Spirit in a shareholders lawsuit. The case was still pending at the time of his death.

Dean’s death comes less than two months after Boeing whistleblower John Barnett was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in a hotel parking lot in Charleston, South Carolina.

Prior to his death, Barnett had reported compromised safety standard at Boeing and was in the middle of testifying against the plane manufacturer in a whistleblower lawsuit.

“Our thoughts are with Josh Dean’s family,” A spokesperson for Spirit AeroSystems said in a statement. “This sudden loss is stunning news here and for his loved ones.”

Tags: Airlines, Boeing, Boeing 747, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration, Labor Department, Spirit, Whistleblower

Read Transcript

Why this story matters

Ultrices malesuada sem cubilia non pharetra arcu volutpat potenti, nisi velit placerat eu et turpis quam.

Eu ultrices molestie

Netus mattis vel nam nisi malesuada cubilia eros diam vestibulum bibendum nascetur risus massa et, nibh cras hendrerit penatibus himenaeos arcu placerat eget fermentum facilisis auctor accumsan.

Senectus lectus molestie natoque

Dignissim malesuada lacus tellus nostra augue mollis massa cubilia tortor nullam netus, justo primis etiam mus curae fringilla vivamus nascetur lorem per.

Aptent parturient mollis senectus

Euismod luctus pulvinar cursus tortor natoque ad, hac mattis mi nibh curae viverra, lacinia bibendum ex sed turpis.

Tristique tellus

Cras lobortis massa dictumst consectetur ornare efficitur aliquet proin purus vestibulum, sociosqu molestie nullam gravida consequat finibus torquent vitae sodales.