He was only 45 years old
Joshua Dean, a former quality auditor at Spirit AeroSystems who acted as a whistleblower in the case of defects in Boeing products, including the infamous 737 MAX airliners, has died in the United States.
According to the Seattle Times, Dean died on Tuesday, April 30, from an «unexpected, rapid-onset infection», believed to be staph pneumonia. He was 45 years old.
Dean was fired from Spirit AeroSystems in 2023 after reporting violations in pressure frame drilling technology that he discovered during an inspection the year before. The company's management ignored his report and subsequently fired Dean, using another defect that he did not discover as a formal reason. After being fired, Dean reported the situation to the FAA.
Dean's death raises questions, given that this is the second time a whistleblower has died in connection with the investigation into Boeing defects. In March of this year, John Barnett, who also testified in the case about Boeing product quality problems, committed suicide.
This comes amid Boeing's ongoing problems with product safety and quality. In January of this year, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX made an emergency landing due to depressurization, losing part of the fuselage. As a result, the US Federal Aviation Administration ordered a temporary suspension of operation of this type of aircraft and conducted inspections that revealed numerous violations.