Family of Boeing Whistleblower Who Died by Suicide Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Company

The family of longtime Boeing employee John Barnett has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the aircraft company after he died by suicide. At the time of his death, he had been questioned for days concerning a whistleblower lawsuit against Boeing.

Barnett, who worked as a Boeing quality control manager for more than 30 years before retiring in 2017, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on March 9, 2024, the Charleston County Coroner’s Office said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE at the time. Barnett lived in Louisiana but was in South Carolina for legal proceedings in connection to the whistleblower lawsuit, according to the BBC and Time.

His family filed a wrongful death and abuse of process lawsuit on Wednesday, March 19, in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina’s Charleston Division, per court documents seen by PEOPLE on Thursday, March 20.

They accuse Boeing’s upper management of pressuring employees “to ignore and conceal defects and to not properly document aircraft build records,” according to the filing.

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Barnett’s family adds, through their attorneys, that failure to follow standards from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the “dangerous decline in Boeing’s quality control” could result in events like plane crashes or aircrafts “coming apart in the air.”

As a quality control manager, Barnett wanted to make sure “every possible defect was identified, documented, and remedied,” the lawsuit states. However, Boeing Management allegedly “pressured him” into not documenting defects and the aircraft build record so it wouldn’t fall behind the production schedule.

After Barnett “persisted,” Boeing allegedly began “a concerted campaign” of abuse, intimidation and harassment, trying to “discourage, discredit, and humiliate” Barnett “until he would either give up or be discredited,” per the filing. In 2017, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to the alleged harsh work environment.

In January of that year, he filed a complaint against Boeing with the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), alleging that Boeing retaliated against him.

Boeing allegedly launched a “scorched-earth series of repeated abuses of process” such as not providing documents that would prove Barnett’s claims. Boeing was sanctioned for discovery abuse, the lawsuit states. (The OSHA later determined there was no retaliation, but Barnett appealed the decision, per The Washington Post.)

Though Barnett retired in 2017 and “repeatedly tried to move on with his life,” he died by suicide after “the weight of years of Boeing’s harassment, abuse, and humiliation became too much for John to bear,” his family claims.

In an email Barnett sent on Feb. 28, 2021 — which was included in the lawsuit — he states in part: “Boeing has absolutely destroyed my outlook on life.”

In a note he left at the time of his death, per his lawsuit, he wrote phrases such as “I pray Boeing pays,” “F— Boeing,” “I’m at peace” and “I found my purpose.”

“Boeing may not have pulled the trigger, but Boeing’s conduct was the clear cause, and the clear foreseeable cause, of John’s death,” the lawsuit reads.

Boeing tells PEOPLE in a statement on Thursday, March 20, “We are saddened by John Barnett’s death and extend our condolences to his family.”

It’s unclear how much Barnett’s family is suing for. They have requested damages such as back and front pay, lost health and life insurance benefits, medical expenses, emotional distress and mental anguish. They are also asking for attorney’s fees and related court costs.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.