(PatriotPostNews.com) – Airline manufacturer Boeing has seen an uptick in its stock following the unexpected death of a whistleblower.
Joshua Dean, who previously worked as a quality auditor at Spirit AeroSystems—a contract supplier for Boeing—passed away on Tuesday, April 30. His family revealed that he died after coming down with a sudden, undisclosed illness.
The rise in Boeing’s stock is not suspected to be connected to Dean’s death in any way, which also does not dictate any signs of foul play. The whistleblower’s passing coincided with the airline company’s move to sell $10 billion of debt, which subsequently told investors that the business would need to pay to borrow funding. Boeing’s stock increased last week.
Before his death, Dean had been blowing the whistle on Boeing for allegedly ignoring production defects in the 737 MAX airplanes. These commercial designs in particular have become highly contested in recent months due to numerous safety issues that occurred during flights and impacted passengers.
In 2024 alone, Boeing has made headlines for incidents on their 737 flights, including one from Alaska Airlines that saw part of a fuselage blow out shortly after takeoff, forcing the plane to quickly return to the airport from which it departed. Amid the safety concerns and allegations, CEO Dave Calhoun announced that he would step down from his position at the end of the year.
Boeing cut back on the number of 737 MAX aircraft it was manufacturing while the controversy rages on, fueled by the testimony of whistleblowers like Dean. According to Calhoun, the company is cracking down on protocols within manufacturing and is planning to buy out Spirit AeroSystems—which supplies the company’s fuselages—in 2024.
Dean’s death marked the second sudden death of a Boeing whistleblower in recent months. In March, former quality manager John Barnett was found shot dead ahead of his final deposition in his testimony against his former employer. Police said at the time that the gunshot was “self-inflicted,” though a family friend later revealed that Barnett told her before his death that, if he died suddenly, it would not be by his own hand.
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