Boeing whistleblower John Barnett is seen in final video before his 'suicide' warning that aviation giant fired quality control inspectors and mechanics 'approved their own work'

John Barnett, 62, was found with a 'self-inflicted' gunshot wound in Charleston, where he had been discussing a whistleblower retaliation suit with Boeing He warned that Boeing's 737 planes were being put in the air too soon after the Alaska Airlines near-tragedy on air

A Boeing whistleblower claimed the aviation giant had fired its quality control inspectors and was relying on mechanics shortly before he was found dead in South Carolina on Saturday.

John Barnett, 62, was found with a ‘self-inflicted’ gunshot wound in Charleston, where he had been in the middle of depositions in a retaliation suit related to production of the 787 Dreamliner plane.

The Charleston Police Department said left a suicide note in his vehicle, as revealed by DailyMail.com. The contents of the note have not yet been revealed.

Just months earlier, in a January appearance on TMZ, he warned that Boeing’s 737 planes were being put in the air too soon after the Alaska Airlines near-tragedy on air.

Barnett claimed that the incident involving the panel was indicative of something greater – and something alleged in his lawsuit against the company: Boeing turning a blind eye to safety concerns in order to raise their bottom line. 

‘Back in 2012, Boeing started removing inspection operations off their jobs… So, it left the mechanics to buy off their own work.” he told TMZ’s Charles Latibeaudiere and Harvey Levin, recalling his time as a quality overseer at Boeing’s plant in South Carolina, which manufactured mostly 787s.

Boeing whistleblower John Barnett claimed the aviation giant had fired its quality control inspectors and was relying on mechanics shortly before he was found dead on Saturday

Barnett said he had problems with  how Boeing was handling its production of its 737s and 787s in particular, days after a door plug blew out on a 737 blew out at 16,000ft

Barnett added: What we’re seeing with the door plug blowout is what I’ve seen with the rest of the airplane, as far as jobs not being completed properly, inspection steps being removed, issues being ignored.

‘My concerns are with the 737 and 787, because those programs have really embraced the theory that quality is overhead and non value added.

‘I know the FAA is going in and done due diligence and inspections to ensure the door close on the 737 is installed properly and the fasteners are stored properly,’ he said, citing the parts that likely played a part in the incident.

‘But, my concern is, “What’s the rest of the airplane? What’s the condition of the rest of the airplane?”‘

Barnett’s suit against Boeing alleged under-pressure workers were deliberately fitting ‘sub-standard’ parts to Boeing 787s, and that brass were sweeping defects under the rug to save money.

The FAA has since revealed the firm failed a whopping 33 of 89 audits during an exam of its 737 Max production.

Boeing shares  plunged by a whopping $3billion on Tuesday morning

Boeing shares plunged by a whopping $3billion after news of the whistleblower’s alleged suicide over the weekend.

Share prices for the aviation giant dropped by more than 3 percent to s $184 on Tuesday morning – a five-month low- following weeks of scandals involving the company.

Shares for Southwest Airlines also dipped, by 13 percent, after the company said it would limit its capacity plans and reevaluate financial forecasts for this year. Southwest said on Tuesday that Boeing informed them they would deliver 46 Boeing 737 Max 8 planes this year, down from the original planned 58.

It is the highest decline for the company since the early Covid-19 pandemic.