Spirit AeroSystems whistleblower, a Wichita man in his 40s, has died
A former quality auditor at Spirit AeroSystems who became a whistleblower has died, according to family and his attorneys.
Joshua Dean is the second whistleblower to die in the last couple of months.
Spirit makes the fuselage and does about 70% of the work on Boeing’s 737 airplanes. The two have been under scrutiny after a door plug blew off of an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX mid-flight, forcing an emergency landing on Jan. 5.
“Our thoughts are with Josh Dean’s family,” Spirit said in a statement. “This sudden loss is stunning news here at Spirit and for his loved ones.”
Dean, who was in his mid-40s, was healthy up until a couple weeks ago when he started having trouble breathing, an aunt told The Seattle Times.
He tested positive for influenza B and then MRSA that turned into pneumonia, his mother said on Facebook. The infection spread throughout his body, causing his organs to stop working properly.
He had to be intubated and flown from a Wichita hospital to an Oklahoma City hospital, where he was put on an ECMO machine, which pumps and oxygenates blood outside the body so the heart and lungs can rest. It’s used in critical situations.
Dean died Tuesday morning. He had recently been working in quality control for Johnson Controls, his attorney said.
He had worked as a quality auditor for Spirit but was fired in April 2023 after his complaints about mis-drilled holes on a 737 Max aft pressure bulkhead, which plays a critical role in maintaining cabin pressure during flight, went unheeded by Spirit, according to a lawsuit brought by Spirit shareholders.
Attorneys Robert Turkewitz and Brian Knowles represent Dean and John Barnett, a retired Boeing employee who raised safety concerns about the company’s aircrafts before dying of a reported self-inflicted gunshot wound on March 9.
In a statement, they said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with Josh and his family. Josh’s passing is a loss to the aviation community and the flying public. By raising serious quality and safety issues as a quality auditor at Spirit, and by going public with his legitimate concerns, Josh demonstrated tremendous courage. Aviation companies should encourage and incentivize those who raise such concerns and not retaliate against them.”
Dean, Turkewitz said, had a Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR21) case against Spirit filed with the U.S. Department of Labor and was in arbitration against Spirit. It’s unclear what will happen with those cases now.
Knowles said family can still represent him in those cases. Dean was working with his former union in the arbitration case, he said.
Turkewitz said he and Knowles are representing about 10 whistleblowers from Spirit and Boeing.
Contributing: Matthew Kelly with The Eagle
