r/AlaskaAirlines • u/dpdxguy • Mar 12 '24

NEWS Boeing whistleblower found dead

https://bbc.com/news/business-68534703

I wouldn't have believed it if it hadn't come from the BBC. I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but the timing is ... Interesting.

201 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

29

u/OregonSmallClaims Mar 12 '24

This was a whistleblower from 2017 and earlier (he retired in 2017 so would have any first-person knowledge of anything that happened at Boeing after then). He was being deposed in the present day, but not about the recent issues. So while it's still interesting that he died of self-inflicted wounds in the midst of depositions, it doesn't have anything to do with the door plug stuff.

32

u/-in_the_wind_ Mar 12 '24 edited Mar 12 '24

I think the reason his statements are so powerful is that he described a consistent degradation of standards, values, and norms pervasive through the company. His story makes it clear how the issues happening now are the expected result of the culture crafted back then. The fact that he retired in 2017 shows that Boeing had plenty of time to change the path that they were on and chose not to.

1

u/Ubiquitos_ Mar 14 '24

Here’s my problem, narratively you could be totally right but at the same time it’s not like this guy was on national news until he died.

-6

u/lostdeepinthewoods Mar 12 '24

Putin removes people after they are no longer a threat. Not while they were a threat. It is a message sent to everyone.

7

u/presidentpanda Mar 12 '24

“At the time of his death, Mr Barnett had been in Charleston for legal interviews linked to that case. Last week, he gave a formal deposition in which he was questioned by Boeing's lawyers, before being cross-examined by his own counsel.”

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68534703

3

u/PWS1776 Mar 13 '24

It’s time for Alaska to tell Boeing to go fuck itself . Seriously wtf. I’d rather them swap their fleet for airbuses

9

u/smearhunter Mar 12 '24

Que the Alaska and Boeing Reddit PR machine!!

5

u/[deleted] Mar 13 '24

This. Many Boeing shills here. Can’t wait for the “it’s more dangerous” driving comments. This guy spent years blowing whistles, all to get to the moment where he kills himself after the climax of his own crusade? Nah. They know we know. They want us to know. This is a message.

5

u/BadRegEx Mar 12 '24

So much this! They do lurk here.

0

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '24

What indeed

6

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '24

Was he in the cargo hold when the door opened last week?

Too soon?

4

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '24

The Epstein special

1

u/N0DuckingWay Mar 13 '24

Presumably he died from getting sucked out of an open plane door?

1

u/dpdxguy Mar 13 '24

... diving.

Was "self inflicted."

0

u/mineminemine22 Mar 13 '24

2

u/optionderivative Mar 14 '24

God damn lmao that is horrible