His death came less than two months after another Boeing whistleblower, quality manager John Barnett, died of a gunshot wound in his truck in April. Barnett had alleged production problems with Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner planes in South Carolina. While suicide is suspected in Barnett’s case, no official cause of death has been determined yet.

In the court of public opinion online, speculation has swirled connecting these two deaths of men who were critical of Boeing’s manufacturing processes and safety claims. Comments and memes have suggested Dean and Barnett may have known too much, wondering if whistleblowing at Boeing is becoming lethal.

While foul play cannot be confirmed or ruled out yet in either case, the open speculation itself speaks volumes. It highlights growing distrust in aviation giant Boeing after the 737 Max crashes and scandals. It also may have a chilling effect on other potential whistleblowers coming forward with safety concerns.

Lawyers for both Dean and Barnett have called for thorough, transparent investigations into their deaths. Attorneys Brian Knowles and Robert Turkewitz said lingering doubts could deter other whistleblowers who play a vital accountability role. They plan to closely monitor the ongoing inquiries in Kansas and South Carolina.

History Repeats Itself?

For longtime Boeing observers, this week’s news felt like an eerie repeat of the past. In the early 2000s, whistleblower Taylor Smith was one of three Boeing workers that sued the company after finding defective parts were used in the 737 Next Generation planes. That case was centered on the same Wichita Spirit AeroSystems factory where Dean would make his claims years later.

When Smith heard of Dean’s death this week, it brought back memories of feeling threatened and intimidated during her own Boeing ordeal over 20 years ago. At one point, the president of a Boeing supplier allegedly threatened violence against a team auditing shoddy parts. Another whistleblower reported getting sick with mysterious, inexplicable symptoms.

“I think God every day that we didn’t have something like that happen to us,” Smith said of Dean’s passing. Even their lawyer from the 2000s case, William Skepnek, now suspects foul play may have been involved: “I cannot help but believe that everybody who is with Boeing or has ever been with Boeing and knows things has reached that conclusion.”

A Culture of Silencing Whistleblowers?

Aviation analyst Peter Lemme worked at Boeing for 16 years before becoming a vocal critic of the 737 Max design flaws. He sees Dean’s death as continuing an alarming pattern.

“Boeing has a culture of dealing with whistleblowers in a pretty harsh manner,” Lemme explained. He pointed to other suspicious incidents, like a Seattle-area Boeing engineer who died in 2018 when her car suddenly accelerated off the road, or a Boeing 787 whistleblower allegedly dying by suicide in California last year.

In just the past few years, the list of former Boeing engineers, analysts, and workers raising red flags about production problems and corporate pressure around safety keeps growing. Many describe a company culture that suppresses dissent and prioritizes profit over people.

At an April 2022 Senate hearing on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner production fiasco, whistleblower Sam Salehpour testified about a threatening conversation after he raised a safety concern. “[My boss] said ‘I would have killed anyone who said what you said if it was from some other group.’”

Comments like this – even if hyperbolic – have a real chilling effect on whistleblowers considering coming forward, Lemme noted. It fuels external speculation that Boeing is quite literally “killing off” vocal critics. Whether or not that proves true in these cases, Lemme argues the perception itself indicates Boeing still hasn’t fixed its cultural problems.

Ongoing Investigations

In the absence of clear evidence, the investigations into both deaths continue. Law enforcement agencies in Kansas and South Carolina have released little information so far. Boeing has declined to comment publicly on the deaths or speculation surrounding them.

The whispers and rumors alone, however, show Boeing has lost the benefit of the doubt in many people’s eyes after successive scandals. The 737 Max tragedies, production problems, delays, and deception around safety have severely damaged public trust. While Boeing posted massive profits again in 2022, critics say nothing has fundamentally changed in its internal culture that deprioritizes safety concerns.

Between the Dean and Barnett cases, still-pending inquiries into 737 Max certification, the House investigation into the 787 Dreamliner production meltdown, and more, Boeing’s problems are far from over. Their outcomes will have major implications for the aviation industry and air travel safety worldwide.

For the friends and families of Joshua Dean and John Barnett, the focus remains on getting full transparency and accountability around their tragic deaths. Nothing can bring back those who were willing to stand up and speak out against corporate negligence that cost hundreds of lives. But ensuring the truth comes out about why they were silenced is the first step on a long road towards justice. I sincerely hope you find this “Boeing Whistleblower Joshua Dean Dies Mysteriously in Oklahoma?” article helpful.

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