A whistleblower who was at warfare with Boeing died final week — and investigators say it seems he took his personal life, this whereas he was embroiled in a lawsuit in opposition to the corporate.

John Barnett was found lifeless on Saturday out in Charleston, SC — the place cops say his physique was present in his truck in a resort car parking zone … with him struggling an obvious self-inflicted gunshot wound. No phrase on if foul play is suspected — however police are investigating.

Barnett’s legal professional, Brian Knowles, known as the passing of his shopper “tragic” … and went on to precise specific doubt concerning the circumstances of his dying, ensuring to name the self-inflicted gunshot wound cops are citing as “alleged.”

What’s extra startling is Barnett was actually within the midst of a whistleblower lawsuit in opposition to Boeing — his former employer of 32 years — as he was alleging retaliation for sounding the alarm on what he characterised as reducing corners on meeting strains for his or her planes.

This can be a drum Barnett had been beating for a very long time — and he even came on “TMZ Live” recently to handle points that Boeing’s 737 Max plane had been experiencing currently.

After all, the one incident that involves thoughts is a door blowing off a 737 flight mid-air in January … which left the passengers clinging to pricey life because the airplane tried to land safely.

1/31/24

TMZ.com

Barnett — a former high quality supervisor at Boeing — spoke with us and mentioned he wasn’t shocked by the mishap … alleging he’d seen Boeing flip a blind eye to security issues for years. He additionally advised us that Boeing’s 737 Max plane being given the inexperienced gentle to fly once more so quickly after the Alaska Airways incident was alarming … suggesting it’d’ve been unsafe.

Quick-forward to final week … when Barnett was in the course of depositions in his case in opposition to Boeing. The corporate launched an announcement and mentioned it was saddened by his dying.