Ahmedabad plane crash: Who was John Barnett, the Boeing whistleblower who died mysteriously?

An Air India flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 232 passengers and 10 crew members, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad to London on June 12, 2025. The crash occurred near Meghaninagar at 1:38 pm, just minutes after takeoff. A video captured the aircraft struggling to gain altitude before crashing in a fireball. But this incident again highlights the suspicious death of John Barnett in US, the Boeing whistleblower who gave evidence questioning production standards in a lawsuit against the Boeing.

John Barnett who was a former Boeing quality manager and whistleblower, was found dead on March 9, 2024, in Charleston, South Carolina. Police, later confirmed that the 62-year-old died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, a note was also recovered at the scene. The reason why Barnett's death is considered suspicious is because it occurred during a legal deposition related to a whistleblower lawsuit against Boeing.

Barnett had dedicated over 30 years of his life to serve Boeing, as a quality manager at the North Charleston facility from 2010. He raised several safety concerns about Boeing’s manufacturing practices, especially related to the 787 Dreamliner. Barnett retired in 2017 due to health issues but he continued the legal action against the company.

In a 2019 interview with BBC, Barnett claimed that the workers were forced to install sub-standard parts to meet deadlines by the Boeing. He also claimed that defective parts were retrieved from scrap bins and fitted to aircraft. In another shocking revelation, he flagged that up to 25 per cent of emergency oxygen systems on the 787 could fail in flight.

In 2017, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), reviewed Barnett’s concerns and confirmed that 53 non-conforming parts were untraceable at Boeing’s facility. The FAA ordered corrective action. Later, Boeing acknowledged that some faulty oxygen cylinders were received but stressed that noneof them were actually installed in operational aircraft.

Barnett’s death came as a sudden shock, as Boeing faced renewed criticism. In January 2024, a Boeing 737 Max suffered a mid-air door plug blowout. During Investigations, it was found that bolts had not been installed properly. A six-week FAA audit later identified several quality control lapses at Boeing and its supplier, Spirit AeroSystems. The family of John Barnett also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the former employer, accusing the company of pushing him to his death through harassment and intimidation.

Barnett’s death had raised questions among aviation observers, given its timing and his role in the ongoing legal case, and his death still considered a mystery by many. Though police ruled it a suicide, the nature of his whistleblower status still continues to draw public attention. Meanwhile, the Ahmedabad crash has reignited scrutiny of aircraft safety and Boeing’s manufacturing integrity.