Boeing shed $4billion in value overnight after it emerged that a whistleblower who was suing the aviation giant had died of an alleged self-inflicted gunshot wound in South Carolina.
Shares dropped by more than 4 percent Tuesday morning as the airline maker’s stock slumped to a five-month low on the news late Monday that John Barnett was found dead in a hotel parking lot in Charleston on Saturday.
Barnett, 62, had been in the middle of a deposition in a whistleblower lawsuit related to production of the 787 Dreamliner, according to his lawyer. The suit alleged under-pressure workers were deliberately fitting ‘sub-standard’ parts to Boeing 787s, and that brass were sweeping defects under the rug to save money.
It also emerged Monday that an FAA review found that Boeing had failed 33 of 89 product audits conducted.
It follows weeks of scandals since a door plug blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight on January 5. Since then, Boeing’s value has nosedived from $150billion to $112billion.
Shares dropped by more than 4 percent Tuesday morning as the aviation giant’s stock slumped to a five-month low on the news late Monday that John Barnett was found dead in a hotel parking lot in Charleston, SC, on Sunday
Since a door plug blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight on January 5, Boeing’s value has nosedived from $150billion to $112billion
Former Boeing Quality Manager John Barnett, 62, issued an eerie warning back in January about two specific plane models recently involved in accidents – before turning up dead this past Saturday. He is seen in 2022
He said he had problems with how Boeing was handling its production of its 737s and 787s in particular, days after a door plug blew out on a 737 blew out at 16,000ft,
Barnett was found dead inside his truck on Saturday in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn in Charleston, pictured above
Barnett had worked at Boeing for 32 years before leaving the company in 2017, according to the BBC, which previously reported on his efforts to raise issues about the company’s production issues.
The 62-year-old died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Charleston County coroner’s office in South Carolina confirmed on Tuesday.
The Charleston City police are investigating, the coroner’s office said, without giving any other details.
Boeing, in a statement, said: ‘We are saddened by Mr. Barnett´s passing, and our thoughts are with his family and friends.’
Barnett’s attorney, Brian Knowles, told the BBC that Barnett had been in the middle of a deposition in a whistleblower lawsuit in Charleston related to production of the 787 Dreamliner plane.
Barnett had spoken to media outlets following the January 5 incident on a Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane, when a panel blew out while the flight was in mid-air, exposing passengers to the outside air that required an emergency landing.
Boeing has since had to reckon with a full-blown crisis around its safety and quality standards.
Its production has been curbed by U.S. regulators, leading to delivery delays across the aerospace industry.
Shares for Southwest Airlines also dipped, by 13 percent, after the company said it would limit its capacity plans and reevaluate financial forecasts for this year.
Southwest said on Tuesday that Boeing informed them they would deliver 46 Boeing 737 Max 8 planes this year, down from the original planned 58.
The first months of the year have been full of scandals involving Boeing, including several terrifying near-tragedies on air, beginning with the Alaska Air January incident that saw a panel blow off mid-flight.
On Thursday, a wheel fell off a Boeing 777-200 shortly after takeoff in San Francisco.
In January, an Alaska Airlines flight suffered a near-catastrophe as a plane door blew out at 16,000ft over Portland
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun speaks with reports at the Capitol in January after MAX 9 planes were grounded follwing the door incident. The company is now under criminal investigation
Share prices for the American aviation giant dropped by more than 3 percent as it faces multiple scandals regarding their planes
The 256lb wheel fell from a United Airlines plane shortly after take-off and crushed cars parked below after it plummeted to the ground.
On Monday, just days before the wheel incident, a 737 engine caught fire mid-flight.
The terrifying incident took place just minutes into a United Airlines flight bound for Fort Myers, Florida.
Video taken from a passenger window shows white-hot flashes streaming out of the 737’s jet engine.
Earlier this week, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board accused Boeing of failing to provide some key records sought in its ongoing investigation into the Alaska Air mid-air cabin door emergency.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said investigators have sought the names of the 25 people who work on door plugs at a Boeing facility in Renton, Washington, but have not received them from Boeing.
‘It is absurd that two months later we don’t have it,’ Homendy said at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Wednesday.
Boeing insisted that it had initially provided the NTSB with some of the names of Boeing employees, including door specialists it believed would have relevant information.
Senator Ted Cruz, the top Republican on the Commerce Committee, called it ‘utterly unacceptable’ that the NTSB was not receiving full cooperation from Boeing.
Homendy also confirmed that the MAX 9 door plug had moved during prior flights, citing markings on the door.