Whistleblower for Boeing contractor Spirit Aerosystems dies

Joshua Dean, a former quality auditor who alleged he was fired from his job at a major Boeing contractor in retaliation for raising concerns about the 737 Max jet, died Tuesday morning after a brief illness, according to press reports and social media posts from family members.

The Seattle Times first reported news of Dean’s death on Wednesday, writing that he died of a “sudden, fast-spreading infection.” He was 45.

“Our thoughts are with Josh Dean’s family,” Joe Buccino, a Spirit AeroSystems spokesman, said in a statement to the Washington Post. “This sudden loss is stunning news here and for his loved ones.”

Efforts to reach members of Dean’s family were unsuccessful. However, Robert M. Turkewitz, an attorney familiar with Dean’s time at Spirit, told the Post that the news of his death was devastating.

“He just wanted to do the right thing,” said Turkewitz. “He believed it was important to look out for the safety of the flying public.”

Brian Knowles, another attorney who knew Dean, told the Post he was the second generation of his family to work at Spirit and was proud of his job there.

In a joint statement, the two men praised Dean’s courage, adding that: “Aviation companies should encourage and incentivize those who raise such concerns and not retaliate against them.”

Dean’s death comes amid growing scrutiny of Boeing and its suppliers in the wake of the midair blowout of a portion of a 737 Max 9 jet in January. Although no one was seriously injured, investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration have identified serious lapses in Boeing’s manufacturing and quality control programs.

In addition, the sudden death of a whistleblower in March and new allegations raised by another employee last month about Boeing’s 787 and 777 programs have dismayed lawmakers and regulators, who are questioning Boeing’s commitment to make safety its top priority following fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019.

Last month, several whistleblowers testified before a Senate subcommittee and told lawmakers they were retaliated against after reporting safety concerns at the company. Boeing has said it has strict policies that prohibit retaliation.

Wichita-based Spirit builds fuselages for 737 Max aircraft, including the one involved in the Alaska Airlines accident, and it also has come under scrutiny for other quality lapses. Boeing is currently in talks to reacquire Spirit, which it spun off in 2005.

Dean began working for Spirit in 2019 but was let go in May 2020 amid mass layoffs related to the global pandemic, according to court filings in a class-action suit against the company filed by other employees in December.

Dean returned to Spirit in May 2021 and began noticing a “significant deterioration” in Spirit’s workforce following the layoffs because there were fewer experienced mechanics, quality auditor and inspectors, according to court papers.

In October 2022, Dean identified mis-drilled holes on a portion of the 737 Max jet known as the aft pressure bulkhead, which is critical to maintaining cabin pressure during flight, according to the complaint. Dean reported the issue to multiple Spirit employees over a period of several months, but Spirit concealed the defect for 10 months until Boeing reported that it had identified a similar issue, the filings stated.

He was fired by Spirit in April 2023 and later filed a complaint with the Department of Labor alleging retaliation for raising aviation safety concerns. His case was dismissed in September because it did not meet the deadline for filing, he then appealed and it was assigned to an administrative law judge in December. It is not clear whether a hearing had been set.

The news comes after the death in March of John Barnett, a quality manager who flagged safety concerns in the production of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, who was found in his car with what authorities said was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The investigation into that case is ongoing.

Barnett, who worked at Boeing plant in South Carolina until 2017, had been scheduled to wrap up his final day of depositions ahead of a June trail scheduled in a whistleblower retaliation case against Boeing that he filed in 2017.