A whistleblower at aircraft maker Boeing who reported on safety and quality control concerns in the company’s production line was reportedly found dead Saturday.
The death was reported Monday by The Hill newspaper, based on information from South Carolina authorities.
The report says the 62-year-old John Barnett died Friday from an apparent self-inflicted wound.
Boeing has operations in the Charleston area, but the report states Barrett was found in his truck at his hotel’s parking lot.
Barnett’s 2019 whistleblower allegations claimed that over-worked employees at its South Carolina plant frequently fitted substandard parts on planes and reported faulty oxygen systems that could result in as many as one in four oxygen masks not operating properly, according to The Hill.
Boeing is now the subject of a federal criminal investigation in connection to a door plug recently exploding off the passenger cabin during an Alaska Airlines flight.
Barnett’s claims were not related to the 737 Max 9 jet involved in the Jan. 5 incident.
