LAUREN TAYLOR: ANOTHER BOEING WHISTLEBLOWER HAS DIED SUDDENLY –

THIS TIME AFTER DEVELOPING A SEVERE INFECTION,

ACCORDING TO THE SEATTLE TIMES.

JOSH DEAN WAS 45 YEARS OLD – AND A FORMER QUALITY AUDITOR FOR BOEING SUPPLIER – SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS SINCE 2019.

DEAN’S AUNT, CAROL PARSONS, SPOKE WITH THE TIMES – AND SAID DEAN WAS LIVING A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE BEFORE HE DIED TUESDAY MORNING. HE HAD SUDDENLY FALLEN ILL TWO WEEKS AGO WHEN HE HAD GONE TO THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE HE WAS HAVING TROUBLE BREATHING. HIS AUNT SAID HIS CONDITION RAPIDLY DETERIORATED AS HE WAS INTUBATED, DEVELOPED PNEUMONIA AND THEN MRSA – A BACTERIAL STAPH INFECTION – AND HE ALSO SUFFERED A STROKE.

DEAN REPORTED FINDING A SERIOUS MANUFACTURING DEFECT IN HOW THE BOEING 737 MAX PLANE WAS 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 THEN FIRED IN APRIL 2023 – AFTER MISSING ANOTHER 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 HIGHER-UPS..

DEAN FILED A COMPLAINT WITH THE FCC – CLAIMING HE WAS FIRED BECAUSE SPIRIT USED HIM AS A SCAPEGOAT – AND COVERED UP THE DISCOVERY OF THE IMPROPERLY DRILLED HOLES.

THE FAA HAD FOUND DEAN’S COMPLAINT TO BE CREDIBLE.

DEAN ALSO FILED AN AVIATION WHISTLEBLOWER COMPLAINT WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR – ALLEGING HE WAS WRONGFULLY TERMINATED AND GROSS MISCONDUCT BY THE SENIOR LEVEL MANAGEMENT WITH SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS.

DEAN ALSO PROVIDED A DEPOSITION AGAINST SPIRIT IN A SHAREHOLDERS LAWSUIT – A CASE THAT 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.

A SPOKESPERSON FOR SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS SAID IN A STATEMENT “OUR THOUGHTS ARE WITH JOSH DEAN’S FAMILY. THIS SUDDEN LOSS IS STUNNING NEWS HERE AND FOR HIS LOVED ONES.”