Boeing whistleblower John Barnett ate quesadilla, drank coke, and 'did not seem upset at all' on night before he was found dead with 'self-inflicted' gunshot wound, hotel staff say

Boeing whistleblower John Barnett ate a quesadilla, drank a Coke, and 'did not seem upset at all' on the night before his alleged suicide in South Carolina, according to sources.

Barnett, 62, was found with a 'self-inflicted' gunshot wound in Charleston, where he had been in the middle of depositions in a bombshell lawsuit related to the production of the 787 Dreamliner plane.

Staff at the Holiday Inn where Barnett was found dead revealed that the former quality manager seemed fine in the evening before his 'suicide', as questions surfaced about where he took his own life.

Barnett ate a quesadilla, drank a Coke, scrolled on his phone, and seemed fine on the evening of March 8, the unnamed hotel employee told the New York Post.

His lawyer previously questioned the coroner's office findings that the gunshot wound was 'self-inflicted,' saying Barnett was in good spirits in between his depositions.

Boeing whistleblower John Barnett ate a quesadilla, drank a Coke, and 'did not seem upset at all' on the night before his alleged suicide in South Carolina, according to sources 

Barnett was found dead inside his pickup truck on Saturday in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn in Charleston, pictured above

Barnett was found with a 'self-inflicted' gunshot wound in Charleston, where he had been in the middle of depositions in a bombshell lawsuit related to the production of the 787 Dreamliner plane. Pictured: the Boeing Distribution Services Inc. HQ in Hialeah, Florida

'I didn't think of him at all until I heard the news the next day. He didn't seem upset at all,' the employee said. 

A police report obtained by DailyMail.com reveals that Barnett extended his stay at the Holiday Inn two days prior to his suspected suicide and had been set to check out the day before the alarm was raised.

The report details that a friend of Barnett's contacted the hotel asking for a welfare check at 10am on March 9, with employees knocking on his hotel room door with no response.

A member of staff then searched for his orange Dodge Ram in the parking lot of the hotel, and discovered Barnett deceased in the driver's seat with a 'silver handgun' in his right hand.

Barnett had his 'right pointer finger remaining on the trigger', and suffered a 'gunshot wound near his right temple, according to the Charleston Police Department. 

The report added that there was a 'white piece of paper that closely resembled a note', lying in plain view on the passenger seat. 

The contents of the note have not yet been revealed.

In January, Barnett explained why he believed both models were ticking time bombs, as both incidents remain under investigation

Barnett 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

A member of staff at the hotel told investigators that he heard a 'pop' at around 9.30am when he was working on the exterior of the hotel, with Barnett's truck discovered at the rear of the property.

Surveillance footage also shows Barnett exiting the hotel on the morning of March 8, though the alarm was not raised until 24 hours later.

In a statement issued after DailyMail.com published the contents of the incident report on Tuesday, Barnett's lawyers, Robert Turkewitz and Brian Knowles, claimed there had been 'no indication' the former Boeing employee would take his own life. 

The statement read in part: 'John was in the midst of a deposition in his whistleblower retaliation case, which finally was nearing the end. 

'He was in very good spirits and really looking forward to putting this phase of his life behind him and moving on. We didn't see any indication he would take his own life. No one can believe it.

'We are all devastated. We need more information about what happened to John. The Charleston police need to investigate this fully and accurately and tell the public what they find out. No detail can be left unturned.'

Boeing's assembly plant in North Charleston - where the deceased worked for decades - is pictured

The Charleston Police Department said the coroner's report found Barnett's death appears to result from a self-inflicted gunshot wound but detectives are still investigative the formal cause of death

Barnett's attorney 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.

On the third day of his deposition, he was due to be cross examined by his own lawyers but failed to show up.

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.

The FAA has since revealed the firm failed a whopping 33 of 89 audits during an exam of its 737 Max production. 

In January, Barnett appeared on TMZ to provide his take on a technical failure that saw a door fly off its hinges of a 737 - a model he said was being victimized by recent shifts in strategy along with the 787.

His warning would prove prophetic, as a 787 experienced a midair 'technical event', injuring 50 passengers. 

In January, Barnett explained why he believed both models were ticking time bombs, as both incidents remain under investigation.

'This is not a 737 problem - this is a Boeing problem,' he said after being asked if he believed the 737 was safe to fly following the door incident and a subsequent FAA inspection.

'I know the FAA is going in and done due diligence and inspections to ensure the door close on the 737 is installed properly and the fasteners are stored properly,' he said, citing the parts that likely played a part in the incident. 

'But, my concern is, 'What's the rest of the airplane? What's the condition of the rest of the airplane?''

He went on to provide a reason for that concern - one that he said led him to file the lawsuit against the aviation firm

'Back in 2012, Boeing started removing inspection operations off their jobs,' he told TMZ's Charles Latibeaudiere and Harvey Levin, recalling his time as a quality overseer at Boeing's plant in South Carolina, which manufactured mostly 787s.

'So, it left the mechanics to buy off their own work,' he explained.

Barnett went on to charge that the incident involving the door was indicative of something greater - and something alleged in his lawsuit: Boeing turning a blind eye to safety concerns in order to raise their bottom line.

'What we're seeing with the door plug blowout is what I've seen with the rest of the airplane, as far as jobs not being completed properly, inspection steps being removed, issues being ignored,' he charged, months before his sudden death.

'My concerns are with the 737 and 787, because those programs have really embraced the theory that quality is overhead and non value added.

'Those two programs have really put a strong effort into removing quality from the process.'