Second Boeing-related whistleblower dies, of ‘sudden infection’: Reports

A former quality auditor at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems and one of the first to allege rampant manufacturing defects on the 737 MAX has died after suffering a sudden infection.

Joshua Dean passed away on Tuesday morning after a bitter struggle with an infection that spread rapidly, reducing the once-healthy 45-year-old to a physical wreck within weeks.

Dean was represented by a law firm in South Carolina that also represented Boeing whistleblower John “Mitch” Barnett, who died in March, apparently by suicide.

Sudden illness

Media reports quoted his aunt, Carol Parsons, as saying that Josh, as he was popularly known, died after being in critical condition for two agonizing weeks.

She said Dean fell ill and went to the hospital because he was having trouble breathing just over two weeks ago.

He was intubated and developed pneumonia and then a serious bacterial infection, MRSA.

Speaking out

As his condition rapidly deteriorated, he was heavily sedated and put on dialysis. A CT scan indicated he had suffered a stroke. “It was brutal what he went through,” Parsons said.

Dean had given a deposition in a Spirit shareholder lawsuit and filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration alleging “serious and gross misconduct by senior quality management of the 737 production line” at Spirit.

The sacking

Spirit sacked Dean in April 2023. He then moved the Department of Labour alleging that his sacking came because he raised concerns related to aviation safety.

Dean had told the Wall Street Journal in January: “It is known at Spirit that if you make too much noise and cause too much trouble, you will be moved.”

Alaska incident

After an incident in January, in which a plug door on a Boeing 737 Max 9 blew off during an Alaska Airlines flight, a former colleague of Dean publicly backed his claims that production deadlines were prioritized over safety at Spirit’s Wichita plant and that managers encouraged workers to hide defects.

American investigators found out in March that both Boeing and Spirit had failed to comply with quality control measures.

First death

Before Dean, Barnett was found dead in March from a gunshot wound which was termed a suicide. He had given depositions alleging Boeing retaliated against him for complaints about quality lapses.

Spirit spokesperson Joe Buccino told the media: “Our thoughts are with Josh Dean’s family. This sudden loss is stunning news here and for his loved ones.”