Whistle­blow­er who accused Boeing supplier of ignoring defects dies

A whistleblower who accused a Boeing supplier of ignoring defects in the production of the 737 MAX has died, family members and his lawyer have said.

Joshua Dean, a former Spirit AeroSystems employee who alleged he was fired in retaliation for flagging lax standards at the company’s Wichita, Kansas, manufacturing plant, died on Tuesday after a sudden illness, his aunts and sister said in posts on social media.

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

Spirit AeroSystems said the company’s thoughts were with his family.

Dean’s mother wrote in a Facebook post last month that her son was “fighting for his life” after contracting pneumonia and suffering a stroke following an MRSA infection.

Dean’s death comes less than two months after Boeing whistleblower John Barnett was found dead from what South Carolina authorities said was an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Barnett, 62, had been in the midst of a deposition in a lawsuit against Boeing after suffering retaliation for exposing safety problems with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, according to his lawyers.