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Boeing whistleblower's autopsy revealed: John Barnett was found dead in his truck with gun in hand next to a suicide note
The autopsy of a Boeing whistleblower has officially determined his death as suicide - as it is revealed he left a furious note slamming the airline.
John Barnett, 62, was found dead in his truck outside a Holiday Inn in Charleston, South Carolina, suffering from what the Coroner's Office said appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
His death sparked huge uproar when his body was found on March 9 - the same day he was due to testify against Boeing after alleging under-pressure workers were deliberately fitting sub-standard parts to aircraft on the assembly line.
Charleston Police Department announced the conclusion to its investigation into his death on Thursday.
'All findings were consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound,' the report from Charleston County Coroner Bobbi Jo O'Neal read. The coroner concluded the manner of Barnett's death 'is best deemed, 'suicide.''
John Barnett, 62, was found dead in a car outside a Holiday Inn in Charleston, South Carolina, suffering from what the Coroner's Office said appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound
Pictured: Barnett's suicide note, which was revealed for the first time Friday since his death
The department confirmed Barnett's death was a suicide based on a series of factors.
Investigators found him alone and locked inside his car with the key fob in his pants pocket. There was no sign of forced entry or a physical struggle.
His phone and hotel key card showed no suspicious activity, and hotel security footage confirmed he left the building unaccompanied before returning shortly after to park.
The vehicle remained undisturbed until the discovery of his body the next morning.
A ballistic analysis of the gun found in Barnett's hand at the scene was registered under his name and legally purchased in 2000.
The notebook containing his suicide note found in the front passenger seat of the truck had his and only his fingerprints on them.
Records obtained by officials confirmed Barnett has had a history of mental health struggles, which only worsened throughout his lawsuit with Boeing.
For the first time, the contents of Barnett's suicide letter were also revealed, which included several profane messages directed at Boeing.
Barnett had alleged that second-rate parts were literally removed from scrap bins, before being fitted to planes that were being built to prevent delays
In early January, an unused emergency exit door blew off a brand-new Boeing 737 Max shortly after take-off from Portland International, sparking a still-ongoing DOJ investigation
Boeing's assembly plant in North Charleston - where the deceased worked for decades - is seen here
'I CAN'T DO THIS ANY LONGER!!! ENOUGH!! F*** BOEING!!!' one message reads.
'Bury me face down so Boeing and their lying-a*** leaders can kiss my a**' reads another.
Barnett's mother told an investigator with CPD that Barnett would often make these remarks.
The whistleblower ends his letter by addressing his loved ones: 'TO MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS, I FOUND MY PURPOSE! I'M AT PEACE! I LOVE YOU MORE' with a doodled heart at the end.
Barnett had worked for Boeing for 32 years before retiring in 2017, with 17 of those years spent as a quality manager.
He was involved in lawsuit with Boeing up until the day he died, and had been in Charleston undergoing legal interviews as part of the process.
In March, Barnett's lawyers Robin Turkewitz and Brian Knowles, referenced a full list of Barnett's complaints against his employer as outlined in a lawsuit for wrongful retaliation filed in 2021.
Among those is that after raising a certain issue in June 2014, the company retaliated by having a manager spy on him.
Boeing's production practices have been questioned both on the 787, a model called the Dreamliner, and the company's best-selling plane, the 737 Max.
The company has come under increased scrutiny since a panel blew off a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun speaks with reporters at the Capitol in January after MAX 9 planes were grounded following the door incident. The company is now under criminal investigation
The 62-year-old was found in his truck in a hotel parking lot in South Carolina, - seven years after he retired following a 32-year career with Boeing
Barnett said in his complaint that he raised the issue of Boeing's 'deep-rooted and persistent culture of concealment' multiple times. He goes on to accuse the company of not documenting and fixing other problems.
In retaliation for his complaints, Barnett said that he was given low scores on performance reports, isolated and forbidden from transferring out of South Carolina.
He says he was 'treated with scorn and contempt by upper management.' Thanks to his treatment, Barnett said that he had to take medical leave in order to deal with stress.
Low scores on performance reviews can affect an employees changes of earning a raise or gaining promotion. Prior to making complaints, Barnett alleges that he was a 'top performer' at the Boeing plant in North Charleston.
Another complaint outlined in the legal filing saw Barnett raising the issue of mechanics doing self-inspections on their own work, something that is prohibited by the Federal Aviation Administration.
In addition to now following FAA protocols, Barnett said that Boeing didn't even follow internal rules.
After emailing another quality control manager in 2012 about a complaint, he claims he was told the company didn't believe him and therefore no investigation took place.
Company officials allegedly asked him to stop complaining about staff taking one piece from a plane and using it on another without authorization.
For that complaint, Barnett said that he was publicly chastised in front of his staff and moved to a new shift.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident in early January, an unused emergency exit door blew off a brand-new Boeing 737 Max shortly after take-off from Portland International, sparking a still-ongoing DOJ investigation
When he filed another complaint in June 2014 regarding procedures not being followed, Barnett alleges that the company had a manager 'spy' on him as he told 'to work in the grey areas.'
Later that same year, Barnett was put on a 60 day 'corrective action plan' and was told by human resources that there was an investigation underway into his behavior.
In July 2015, Barnett said that he saw his team reassigned without his knowledge and thus leaving other areas that he was responsible for understaffed.
A year later, Barnett said he was challenged with performing a task involving recovering lost parts during an impossible timeframe. When he raised this, he was told to 'let it go.'
A month after that, Barnett said that he was removed from an investigation into defective passenger oxygen masks finding that 75 out of 300 didn't work. After his removal, he alleges that the investigation never addressed the problem.
Barnett then saw mechanical staff be asked to use scrap parts in planes without proper documentation. When he complained about this, Barnett said he was blocked from applying for a promotion.
In October 2016, Barnett took his complaints to Boeing's national office. In the legal complaint he says that after being told that it would be handled, the investigation reverted back to staff in the Charleston office.
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According to this filing, the same year that he retired, 2017, Barnett filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in which he raised his issues as well as the personal punishments he believed that he received.
Early in the year, he says he learned that he was on a list of 'quality managers to get rid of.'
Boeing issued a statement upon the release of the complaint.
'We are saddened by Mr. Barnett’s passing, and our thoughts are with his family and friends. Boeing reviewed and addressed quality issues that Mr. Barnett raised before he retired in 2017, as well as other quality issues referred to in the complaint about its 2020 disposition of Mr. Barnett’s claims,' the company said.
Barnett is just one of many whistleblowers who have come forward in recent months, raising a string of allegations about Boeing's quality control.
Santiago Paredes, who worked for Spirit AeroSystems - where the troubled 737 Max is built - at its factory in Kansas, is the latest to speak out, saying he was asked to hide defects on 737 fuselages.