Kansas, United States

A former quality auditor at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems turned whistleblower, Joshua Dean, who had accused the US planemaker’s supplier of ignoring defects in the production of the 737 MAX, died, said media reports citing his family and lawyer. 

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‘Sudden illness’

Dean, 45, a former Spirit AeroSystems employee had accused the company of ignoring the defects in the production of the 737 MAX, a plane series by Boeing whose reputation has been marred by a series of crashes and incidents. 

The former Spirit employee had alleged that he was fired for flagging lax standards at the company’s manufacturing plant in Wichita, Kansas. His aunts and sister on social media said that he died on Tuesday (Apr 30) after a sudden illness. 

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Dean’s death comes less than two months after a former Boeing employee turned whistleblower was found dead after an apparent “self-inflicted gunshot wound.”

Also Read | Boeing whistleblower John Barnett found dead days after giving evidence against company

Boeing has come under intense scrutiny after a string of incidents, including a near-catastrophic mid-air panel blowout on a 737 MAX plane operated by Alaska Airlines in January. 

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A report by The Seattle Times citing Dean’s aunt, Carol Parsons on Wednesday (May 1) said that Joshua went to the hospital after he had trouble breathing some two weeks ago. 

Eventually, his condition began to worsen, Parsons told the media outlet, adding that her nephew was intubated. Dean’s mother took to Facebook and wrote that her son was “fighting for his life” after contracting pneumonia and suffering a stroke following an MRSA infection, reported Al Jazeera. 

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a serious bacterial infection and is “difficult to treat because of resistance to some antibiotics,” according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

The Seattle Times, which first reported on the whistleblower’s death, on Wednesday (May 1) said Dean had “been in good health” and was known “for having a healthy lifestyle,” but died after contracting a “sudden, fast-spreading infection.”

‘Excessive amount of defects’

As an employee at Spirit, Dean had flagged lax standards and an “excessive amount of defects” at a Boeing manufacturing plant in Wichita back in October 2022, according to NPR. 

Dean had testified against Spirit in a shareholder lawsuit last year. In January, the former Spirit employee, in an interview with the The Wall Street Journal said that he was fired for pointing out wrongly drilled holes in fuselages.

“It is known at Spirit that if you make too much noise and cause too much trouble, you will be moved…doesn’t mean you completely disregard stuff, but they don’t want you to find everything and write it up,” he told the WSJ. 

He had also filed a complaint against the company with the US regulatory body the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for “serious and gross misconduct by senior quality management of the 737 production line” at the manufacturer, reported Newsweek. 

Also Read | 'If anything happens to me, it's not suicide': Deceased Boeing whistleblower before death

Spirit AeroSystems, in a short statement to the media, said that the company’s thoughts were with his family. 

“This sudden loss is stunning news here at Spirit and for his loved ones,” a spokesperson told Al Jazeera.

Dean’s lawyer Brian Knowles told the media outlet that his client’s death was a “loss to the aviation community and the flying public”.

He added, “He possessed tremendous courage to stand up for what he felt was true and right and raised quality and safety issues.” 

“Aviation companies should encourage and incentivise those that do raise these concerns. Otherwise, safety and quality are truly not these companies’ top priorities,” Knowles told Al Jazeera. 

(With inputs from agencies)