You guys know me. I'm as anti-conspiracy as they come around here, but...

Boeing Story Takes Shocking Turn as Second Whistleblower Dies Suddenly

The trite, popular saying is "There are no coincidences."

It's not true, of course. There are countless coincidences in this world, day in, day out, but, uhh, I don't know about this one.

Coinkerdink or not, one might be hesitant to be #3.

What are the odds?

Well, for the second dead guy, 100%

Yeah, it's a bit weird and all the 2nd one dying, but I'm sure he was pretty old and...

"He was 45 years old."

Oh....

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
but...

Para, you were the LAST person I expected to see under the “Topic Starter” column!

That, in and of itself, is proof enough for me!

Once can be chalked up to an outlier or fluke. Twice is most likely a coincidence. Three times - should a third death happen - is a pattern.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: egregore,

I think timing was just coincidence, and the poor guy just had bad bad luck. Based on what info the article has, the guy got sick/can't breathe, went to hospital and was intubated. Then, he developed pneumonia and MRSA and was put on ECMO, then had kidney failure and a stroke.


From The Seattle Times, https://www.seattletimes.com/b...erosystems-has-died/

May 1, 2024 at 2:58 pm | Updated May 1, 2024 at 3:54 pm

By Dominic Gates and Lauren Rosenblatt
Seattle Times staff reporters


Joshua Dean, a former quality auditor at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems and one of the first whistleblowers to allege Spirit leadership had ignored manufacturing defects on the 737 MAX, died Tuesday morning after a struggle with a sudden, fast-spreading infection.

Known as Josh, Dean lived in Wichita, Kan., where Spirit is based. He was 45, had been in good health and was noted for having a healthy lifestyle.

He died after two weeks in critical condition, his aunt Carol Parsons said.

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

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

Spirit fired Dean in April 2023, and he had filed a complaint with the Department of Labor alleging his termination was in retaliation for raising concerns related to aviation safety.

Parsons said Dean became 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.

His condition deteriorated rapidly, and he was airlifted from Wichita to a hospital in Oklahoma City, Parsons said. There he was put on an ECMO machine, which circulates and oxygenates a patient’s blood outside the body, taking over heart and lung function when a patient’s organs don’t work on their own.

His mother posted a message Friday on Facebook relating all those details and saying that Dean was “fighting for his life.”

He was heavily sedated and put on dialysis. A CT scan indicated he had suffered a stroke, his mom’s post said.

By the end, doctors were considering amputating both hands and both feet. “It was brutal what he went through,” Parsons said. “Heartbreaking.”

Dean was represented by a law firm in South Carolina that also represented Boeing whistleblower John “Mitch” Barnett.

Barnett was found dead in an apparent suicide in March. He was in the midst of giving depositions alleging Boeing retaliated against him for complaints about quality lapses when he was found dead from a gunshot wound in Charleston, S.C., where Boeing has its 787 manufacturing facility.

The Charleston County Coroner’s Office reported Barnett’s death appeared to be “from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.” Almost two months later, the police investigation into his death is still ongoing.

Brian Knowles, one of Dean’s lawyers, said he didn’t want to speculate about the close timing and circumstances of the two deaths.

“Whistleblowers are needed. They bring to light wrongdoing and corruption in the interests of society. It takes a lot of courage to stand up,” Knowles said. “It’s a difficult set of circumstances. Our thoughts now are with John’s family and Josh’s family.”

Dean, a mechanical engineer, began working at Spirit in 2019. He was laid off the next year following pandemic-related job cuts and returned to Spirit in May 2021 as a quality auditor.

In October 2022, Dean said he found a serious manufacturing defect: mechanics improperly drilling holes in the aft pressure bulkhead of the MAX. When he flagged this issue with management, he said nothing was done.

Focused on those defects, he said he missed during that same audit a separate manufacturing flaw in the fittings that attach the vertical tail fin to the fuselage. When that was discovered in April and caused a delivery pause at Boeing’s Renton plant, Dean was fired.

Then in August, Spirit announced the discovery of improperly drilled holes in the MAX’s aft pressure bulkhead, a flaw that was present in MAXs built as early as 2019. This caused another delivery halt in Renton.

With that discovery, Dean filed a safety complaint with the FAA. He said Spirit had used him as a scapegoat and had lied to the FAA about the aft pressure bulkhead defects.

“After I was fired, Spirit AeroSystems [initially] did nothing to inform the FAA, and the public” about their knowledge of the aft pressure bulkhead defects, he wrote in his complaint.

In November, the FAA sent Dean a letter stating that it had completed an investigation of the safety issues he had flagged. The letter cloaks the outcome though it seems to confirm that his allegations had substance.

“The investigation determined that your allegations were appropriately addressed under an FAA-approved safety program,” the FAA wrote. “However, due to the privacy provisions of those programs, specific details cannot be released.”

That same month, Dean filed his aviation whistleblower complaint with the Department of Labor, alleging wrongful termination and “gross misconduct of senior level Spirit AeroSystems Quality Managers.”

That case was still pending.

After he left Spirit, Dean took a job for a short time at Boeing Wichita, then left to work for another company.

The shareholder lawsuit alleging that Spirit management withheld information on the quality flaws and harmed stockholders was filed in December. Supporting the suit, Dean provided a deposition detailing his allegations.

After a panel blew off a Boeing 737 MAX plane in January, bringing new attention to the quality lapses at Spirit, one of Dean’s former Spirit colleagues confirmed some of Dean’s allegations.

It sure is convenient for Boeing, and it makes me wonder how many billions of dollars are at stake, or whose reputations need protecting.

Oh, and if you're another Boeing whistleblower, coincidence or not, it sure sends a message.

Shirley you must be kidding…..

Coincidence it may very well be, but you have to admit, it's a rather remarkable coincidence.

Its blatantly obvious at this point.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SIG4EVA,

Blatantly office, Gracie?

When I saw this story... I resisted posting, because... Conspiracy! but...

"It Was Brutal": 2nd Boeing-Linked Whistleblower Dies

A whistleblower at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems died Tuesday morning following a struggle with a 'sudden, fast-spreading infection,' the Seattle Times reports.

45-year-old Joshua Dean, a former mechanical engineer and quality auditor from Wichita, Kansas, alleged that Spirit leadership ignored manufacturing defects on the 737 MAX, including 'mechanics improperly drilling holes in the aft pressure bulkhead of the MAX.' When he brought this up with management, he said that nothing was done about it. So he filed a safety complaint with the FAA - and said that Spirit had used him as a scapegoat while they lied to the agency about the defects.

"After I was fired, Spirit AeroSystems [initially] did nothing to inform the FAA, and the public" regarding the bulkhead defects, said Dean in his complaint.

In November, the FAA suggested to Dean in a letter that his claims had merit, writing "The investigation determined that your allegations were appropriately addressed under an FAA-approved safety program," adding "However, due to the privacy provisions of those programs, specific details cannot be released."

Dean also gave a deposition in a Spirit shareholder lawsuit.

The shareholder lawsuit alleging that Spirit management withheld information on the quality flaws and harmed stockholders was filed in December. Supporting the suit, Dean provided a deposition detailing his allegations.

After a panel blew off a Boeing 737 MAX plane in January, bringing new attention to the quality lapses at Spirit, one of Dean’s former Spirit colleagues confirmed some of Dean’s allegations. -Seattle Times

He had been in good health, and 'was noted for having a healthy lifestyle,' according to the report.

He had been in critical condition for two weeks, according to his aunt Carol Parsons, who said he became ill and went to the hospital due to breathing difficulties. He was intubated, after which he developed pneumonia and then MRSA, a serious bacterial infection.

His condition deteriorated rapidly, and he was airlifted from Wichita to a hospital in Oklahoma City, Parsons said. There he was put on an ECMO machine, which circulates and oxygenates a patient’s blood outside the body, taking over heart and lung function when a patient’s organs don’t work on their own. -Seattle Times

Doctors had considered amputating both hands and both feet.

"It was brutal what he went through," said Parsons. "Heartbreaking."

Dean was fired in April 2023, after which he filed a complaint with the Department of Labor, alleging he had been terminated in retaliation for blowing the whistle.

He was represented by the South Carolina law firm that represented Boeing whistleblower John "Mitch" Barnett, who was found dead in an 'apparent suicide' in March in Charleston.

Barnett was in the middle of giving depositions suggesting that Boeing retaliated against him over complaints related to quality issues when he was found dead from a gunshot wound.

The Charleston County Coroner’s Office reported Barnett’s death appeared to be “from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.” Almost two months later, the police investigation into his death is still ongoing. -Seattle Times

"Whistleblowers are needed. They bring to light wrongdoing and corruption in the interests of society. It takes a lot of courage to stand up," said Brian Knowles, one of Dean's lawyers. "It’s a difficult set of circumstances. Our thoughts now are with John’s family and Josh’s family."

In March, Boeing was rumored to be in talks to buy Spirit, as both companies have come under increasing pressure from airline customers and federal regulators to shore up quality issues following a January 5th incident in which a door plug blew out mid-flight on a 737 MAX 9.

https://www.zerohedge.com/poli...d-whistleblower-dies

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
I think timing was just coincidence, and the poor guy just had bad bad luck. Based on what info the article has, the guy got sick/can't breathe, went to hospital and was intubated. Then, he developed pneumonia and MRSA and was put on ECMO, then had kidney failure and a stroke.

Quite common in 45 year old men. In fact, I almost had that happen to me when I was about that age, but I got lucky, and didn't blow the whistle on Boeing, and so I recovered.

"Dear Yenta Klause,

Please remove the "Boeing Whistle" from my Chrismukkah list.

Toda,

sm"

Fool me once, shame on me...

The neat thing is, if he already gave any depositions, they can likely still be used even if he is dead. Sure, he can’t be put on the stand, but that might not matter a whole lot.

- Bret