--- title: "Another Boeing Whistleblower Just Died" description: "Shockingly, another person who had testified about Boeing's safety protocols has died after developing multiple infections." date: "2024-05-02" modified: "2024-05-02" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/another-boeing-whistleblower-died" categories: - "Boeing" - "Future Society" - "Space" tags: - "boeing" - "planes" - "the digest" - "whistleblower" --- # Another Boeing Whistleblower Just Died ![Shockingly, another person who had testified about Boeing's safety protocols has died after developing multiple infections.]() *\Image: Kevin Carter via Getty / Futurism\* ## Intense Allegations Another whistleblower who had testified about Boeing's safety protocols has died. As the [*Seattle Times* reports](), Joshua Dean, a former quality auditor with Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems who raised concerns about its manufacturing process and allegedly substandard parts, has died after a two-week-long battle with a fast-acting infection at the age of 45. The former auditor was said to be in good health before he got sick and began having significant trouble breathing. Soon after entering the hospital, he developed both pneumonia and the rapidly-spreading staph infection MRSA, and ultimately succumbed to the latter. Based in Wichita, Kansas, Dean had been fired by Spirit — which was spun out from Boeing nearly 20 years ago [in an outsourcing push]() and shouldn't be confused with the discount flight company Spirit Airlines — in April 2023 after he repeatedly tried to sound alarm bells about the manufacturing processes for parts that went into Boeing's 737 jets, as the [*Seattle Times* previously reported](). ## Trial by Fire After it was discovered that he'd missed a separate manufacturing flaw in the 737 parts, Spirit sacked Dean. He then filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration and a whistleblower complaint with the Department of Labor, alleging that managers ignored safety concerns and mistakes and that he'd been fired wrongfully. He also gave testimony in a shareholder lawsuit against Boeing in December 2023 that ended up partially going public the next month in the aftermath of the [shocking mid-air fuselage blowout]() aboard a 737 operated by Alaska Airlines. Dean had also been represented in his ongoing whistleblower efforts by Brian Knowles, the same attorney who'd been working with Boeing whistleblower John Barnett when he was [found dead]() from an allegedly self-inflicted gunshot wound in March. While Knowles and his co-counsel Rob Turkewitz suggested in [statements to *Futurism*]() that there may have been foul play involved in Barnett's death, the attorney told the *Seattle Times* that at this time, he didn't want to speculate about Dean's. "It’s a difficult set of circumstances," the lawyer said. "Our thoughts now are with John’s family and Josh’s family." **More on Boeing:** [*Lawyer Suing Boeing Surprised to Find Large Piece That Fell Off Boeing Plane Outside His House*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()