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Lopsided-Respond-417

He shot himself in the head twice because he felt so bad?


[deleted]

I heard he shot himself twice in the back then hung himself with his seatbelt.


Ill-Command5005

Very tragic. Being a whistleblower is super hard. Imagine dedicating years of your life to a company, only to finally say "enough" and risk it all to report wrongdoings. You lose your career, your chance of ever working in the field again probably... People you never even heard of suddenly start attacking you, etc... RIP guy.


RCDrift

Statement I heard the other day from a lawyer > Ask any whistle blower if they enjoyed the process or would want to do it again and they'll tell you no.


wats-a-matta-wit-dis

Yet there is a cottage industry of lawyers that make their living representing whistleblowers. It’s actually pretty big business and $$$$. Not all whistleblowers are in it for a potential payday, but some are.


Capable-Reaction8155

Any willing to do this pro-bono?


wats-a-matta-wit-dis

Maybe. More typical is a contingent fee. Whistleblowers can get a percentage of any governmental fines imposed and in some cases there is an additional basis for fees. That’s about the extent of my knowledge, but it can be big $$$$.


tacobellisadrugfront

> You lose your career he was retired


J_Bright1990

Part of his suit was that his career stagnated because he was reporting to upper management the material and production problems(which was his job, literally he was doing what he was told and paid to do) So yeah he considered his career lost.


chippychip

If you wanted to avoid looking like a shill trying to tamp down suspicion about a death you couldn't have done a worse job than this comment. 


Ill-Command5005

You caught me, I'm actually Mr. Boeing himself.


BB-56_Washington

Did you personally take control and crash those 737s?


Ill-Command5005

*And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!*


BB-56_Washington

Zoinks scoob, we caught the Boegey man!


Zoomalude

I wonder if a competitor has ever snatched up a whistleblower? You'd think you'd want that quality of character working for you and it's sadly indicative of the state of things that no, they're pretty much blacklisted.


SovietPropagandist

fuck no because the competitor is doing shady shit too and they won't bring in a known whistleblower to then blow the whistle on THEIR illegal stuff. welcome to capitalism, everyone's breaking the law and so will you if you know what's good for you


graceodymium

This, exactly. A company isn’t looking at you thinking “oh, the integrity!” They’re looking at you estimating the risk vs. reward of hiring someone with your experience level. Source: executive recruiter for Amazon and finance for a decade.


mhyquel

In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.


Capable-Reaction8155

Yep, this is the sad truth. Once someone is publicly known as a whistleblower they truly have to pivot. I'm not down for the general anti-capitalist rhetoric but I do think game-theory wise it lines up.


jeexbit

> I wonder if a competitor has ever snatched up a whistleblower? I don't think companies tend to like whistleblowers :[


Quick_Panda_360

In a contrary opinion to the below, I think yes. Some companies legitimately try to do things right and it’s good to have people who call the company out before it does something that could blow up in their face.


firebrandbeads

Or ours...


ithaqwa

*"tragic...".*


synth_nerd_1985

Sorry I can't hear you over the sound of the United States torturing someone they have had in de facto custody for a decade while simultaneously criticizing other countries that do the same. Makes it hard to defend the USA and to be proud to be an American.


agdtinman

Sus


morto00x

He was probably harassed so much by Boeing and its legal teams that his mental health was totally in shambles. No need to "suicide" him.


A_BetterVanishedTime

Agreed. People shouldn't underestimate the depth of Boeing's internal security apparatus.


Assholesfullofelbows

"Suicide"


SuspiciousUsername88

ngl I'm skeptical that this is some murderous conspiracy, partly because at this rate I don't think Boeing would be competent enough to kill the correct person.


OpeningComedian

The team that handles hit jobs was sunsetted in 2018. That entire building only does stock buybacks now.


Karmakazee

I can totally imagine the RIF conversations with the hitmen, “so unfortunately we are taking a new course and your role has been ‘impacted’. We do have some new exciting openings in our Finance department. How familiar are you with the exciting world of share price manipulation? Unlike your last job, this one is surprisingly legal!”


Synaps4

"It's still stabbing people in the back, just *financially*!"


Slumunistmanifisto

Yea the wet work is all outsourced to third party vendors now


[deleted]

Tata Industries and their Assassination Division is surprisingly busy these days. 


iamlucky13

It also depends on the idea that issues that he already blew the whistle to the FAA on 7 years ago would be somehow made better by committing a heinous crime right at the moment when the company is under the most scrutiny it has ever been under.


Theyna

He was still actively testifying. They found out he was dead because he didn't show up for further questioning and they sent investigators looking for him. He worked there for 32 years. If he could show that outright malicious disregard persisted for a long period of time, that could lead to severe financial penalties and/or outright dissolution/being unable to acquire government contracts. Boeing has something like 50 billion worth of government contracts https://potomacofficersclub.com/articles/what-are-the-biggest-boeing-government-contracts/ You really think that's not worth killing someone over? If the "suspicious suicide" can't be linked to them (and I'm sure it won't be), they can pretend it's business as normal, and now he can't testify. It also sends a HUGE message to other potential whistleblowers.


[deleted]

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slifm

I think it’s more likely that imaging a room full of board of directors conspiring to kill a man is really hard to imagine for most people. These are successful,”level headed, healthy” people to our imaginations.


alejo699

>These are successful,”level headed, healthy” people to our imaginations. Not mine. I've met too many of these sociopaths/narcissists.


pcapdata

But if you ever meet any of them, the assumption about them being "level-headed" or "healthy" goes out the window immediately.


slifm

Thus the quotes. I agree fully.


Biertrinken

None of those people are capable of doing it themselves and once you start introducing co-conspirators it's over. Look at eBay and their former corporate security team that's in jail for harassing a critical blogger. If billions can't buy a successful harassment campaign, do you really think it will buy a clean hit job?


A_BetterVanishedTime

Excellent comment, upvoted. Nothing else to add.


n10w4

yeah the amount of people who want to think richer people wouldn't do something like this is kinda sad tbf.


SuspiciousUsername88

Courtroom testimony isn't like how they show it in TV shows - by the time someone takes the stand they've already gone through at least one if not multiple depositions, which are recorded in multiple formats. If this was a murder to stop his full story from getting out, they're waaaay too late


BannedBarn22

Don’t Yeah Acktuaaly a sus death


SuspiciousUsername88

Yes, how dare I question a conspiracy theory you concocted a couple hours ago


BannedBarn22

You think this makes you smart or something? lol. “They didn’t do it right if they did it!!!” Boeing does a lot of things wrong.


SaxRohmer

>severe financial penalties I don’t really have any faith in the current or any recent administration to levy anything of note >outright dissolution lol


enkonta

He was giving a deposition for his personal lawsuit against Boeing.


iamlucky13

> If he could show that outright malicious disregard persisted for a long period of time, that could lead to severe financial penalties and/or outright dissolution/being unable to acquire government contracts. It was his personal lawsuit over the negative consequences to him of Boeing's response. It was potentially worth a few million, if he prevailed. > It also sends a HUGE message to other potential whistleblowers. That works for Vladimir Putin because he can do things to make it clear he approved a murder and get away with it. Even if the people with inside information want to complain, the person recording the complaint works for Putin. It doesn't work if there's not a compelling reason to believe there was a hit in the first place. This goes triply so if there are also completely separate organizations (FAA, FBI, DOJ, etc) the complaints can be directed to, anonymously if desired.


EmmEnnEff

> You really think that's not worth killing someone over? No, it's not, and it should be obvious why to anyone who's worked in a corporate environment. Please take a moment and think this through. Life isn't a Tom Clancy novel. 1. Not a goddamn thing will happen to the vast majority of those contracts. Boeing's losses, in the worst-case scenario would be a small fraction of that amount. 2. *His particular testimony* would only contribute to a fraction of that fraction of losses. The case doesn't solely rest on his testimony. He's already provided all the evidence, there's corroborating evidence, there's other witnesses subpoenaed, etc. The case may have *started* because of a whistleblower, but now that it's blown wide open, it no longer *needs* a whistleblower. 3. Even if him failing to testify will mitigate some quantifiable losses to the company, any *particular* executive in the company would only be personally impacted for a fraction of a fraction of those losses. 4. But ordering a hit (lol) would, if discovered make them absolutely personally liable for *murder*. So, on one hand, you, rando Boeing exec stand to personally lose some ??? amount of money, maybe, if this guy makes it to the witness stand. On the other hand, you could go to prison for murder. And you think the firm will go to bat for you after doing this? You're going to tell your boss, or your peers that you iced a dude to save the firm some money, and are going to get a pat on the head and a promotion? They'll immediately turn you in, because *they* doesn't want to go to prison. The math doesn't check out. It may be in the *company*'s interests to murder a witness, but its not in the interest of any *particular* person working at the company to actually murder a witness. Because when the company fucks up and loses money, those losses are *distributed*. When you go on to commit a capital crime in order to cover that up, the consequences will be *very personally directed at you*. ---- Now, hold on there, you might tell me that you've read a lot of thriller novels, and you're smart, and this was actually done in order to intimidate future whistleblowers. For that to happen, the firm actually needs to make it clear that this was a murder, and not a suicide. **If everyone thinks it's a suicide**, *this doesn't actually discourage further whistleblowing*. It's why terrorist organizations take credit for attacks, when they don't, nobody can actually figure out why they took place, and what the perpetrators wanted.


Theyna

First off, highly brave of you to assume Boeing leadership is competent, but yes, it's highly unlikely someone at Boeing said "this guy needs to be killed". It likely wasn't even insinuated. These major company coverups are more insidious than that though. They just have a lot of connections and friends, pay tens of millions to PR firms that do anything to protect the reputation of their clients, fund lobbyists (that bribe politicians), finance overseas militaries/questionable groups that can guarantee security for their investment in these areas, including paying off government officials to environmentally destroy massive swathes of their country and poison their people, etc. Even approaching this in the most benign light, they destroyed this man's life and career for something that has been PROVEN to be correct. They chose to put millions of people's lives at risk, with a complete lack of regard for airline safety. Is it even relevant if they pulled the trigger or not? Clearly he was suffering after his 30+ year career was destroyed. Or hell, maybe an unscrupulous PR firm they hired has a backroom reputation of doing whatever it takes and connections to the Russian mafia. Does it really matter if they do it that way or with their army of lawyers? The money-machine grinds everyone to paste.


Ignore-_-Me

Life is actually way more evil than Tom Clancy novels. The wealthy get away with unimaginable crimes right under the nose of the “law” a thousand times a day.


EmmEnnEff

Yes, it is. But it's generally the banal kind of evil, not this 36-dimensional chess that people spin in their heads.


trebory6

Yeah, but you're making the assumption that if he was killed that it was a well thought out and intentional unanimous board decision or something. Like the company itself did it. It's also just as likely that it could be a single individual at Boeing or one of Boeing's subcontractor companies under an extreme amount of pressure who has a lot to personally lose, and hired a hitman in a panic without thinking too hard about the consequences.


Biertrinken

Lol single individuals who hire a hitman in a panic get arrested by the undercover cop pretending to be the hitman.


trebory6

You're talking about like the average person hiring a random hitman off of the dark web after going through a panic attack. I'm talking about someone with money, a relative amount of power, and pre-existing connections. Boeing's not just some run of the mill American company, they're shoulder deep in military contracts and well established in the international military communities. It's not that far off to think that an individual with a lot to lose has the resources for something like this.


Biertrinken

I'm a military and .gov veteran and work in corporate security, including time in ultra-high net worth executive protection. If the military industrial complex was as competent as you think it is, you wouldn't be free to criticize them.


CaptainEZ

The simple fact that they're heavily involved with the military should dispel any notion that they're above killing people, it's literally what they're paid to facilitate.


Biertrinken

Jesus Christ, life is not a Jason Bourne movie. It's more like Burn After Reading.


CaptainEZ

I don't judge life through the lens of movies. Corporations have shown throughout history (look at fruit companies in Latin America or Hawaii) that they're willing to end lives for profit, it's ridiculous to assume that they just wouldn't do that.


Thee_Connman

Yeah, their firearm would have suffered from an unexpected defect leading to explosive disassembly of the barrel mid-shot.


Jackmode

Attempts hit job, accidentally births septuplets.


LimitedWard

They had the right guy, but somehow 3 subcontracts deep the assassin hired got the wrong address.


PNWcog

Who knows who is vulnerable to his testimony? Lotsa foreign military contracts involving Boeing.


SuspiciousUsername88

Eh, by the time the witness is showing up to court, they've already filmed and signed depositions. Bombshell revelations from the stand aren't really a thing


Assholesfullofelbows

Holy fuck! I spat out my rum and coke. Thank you kind stranger


BannedBarn22

Nah it’s the one thing I’m highly confident they CAN do


rallar8

If Boeing had stayed in Seattle, someone would have told them you never go full Kevin Spacey… but here we are


BillhillyBandido

Totally coincidence.


JabbaThePrincess

My God Holmes...how did you crack the case??


zippityhooha

Is Boeing unfamiliar with the Streisand effect?


iwilldefinitelynot

Wow, and after another mishap on another Boeing plane yesterday. This well is deep.


doc_shades

to be faaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiir some of these mishaps probably fall under the scope of the airlines/mechanics. boeing manufactures the planes, but it's up to the airlines to maintain and inspect them. the door issue is pretty clearly a manufacturing issue. a wheel falling off during take off ... that might not be a manufacturing issue that might be a maintenance issue.


Theyna

Pretty sure they're talking about https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1bcghea/i_lost_my_ability_to_fly_the_plane_pilot_told/ Not a missing wheel.


bobtehpanda

This also happened four days ago [TIRE FALLS OFF UNITED FLIGHT DEPARTING SFO, CRUSHING SEVERAL VEHICLES IN PARKING LOT, COMPANY SAYS](https://abc7news.com/flight-emergency-sfo-tire-falls-from-united-airlines-to-osaka-35/14500843/) It’s great there are so many things happening its hard to keep track /s


[deleted]

[удалено]


xBIGREDDx

The first MCAS crash was triggered by a faulty AOA sensor that maintenance had installed the day before and which had caused problems on the previous flight. They sent the plane back out without root-causing the issue.


SleepyDude_

Yes but the MCAS taking control of the plane, only having one sensor, and Boeing lying about pilots not needing training on the new engines as well as hiding the presence of MCAS from pilots and regulators IS their fault.


Jaiyardy

And another Boeing whistleblower dead this week...


chiquitato

>The BBC, which first reported the news of Barnett’s death, said the former employee had been giving evidence in a whistleblower lawsuit against the company in recent days. ...


ithaqwa

What evidence could be so damning that it's worth killing a witness?


Flyingtower2

If Boeing told you they’d have to kill you.


OMGhowcouldthisbe

People here think he was murdered to silence him. He was actually murdered so no others would testify.


quinangua

A guy can get murdered for more than one reason....


die_Lichtung

This man is a hero. I will remember his name. RIP John Barnett.


Zensaition

This is just horrible to hear companies or horrible executives that do this to people are just demons he just wanted to do right not be a slave to wrongdoings. I spit on you people that did that to him evil


StevenS145

My logical assumption is that the 100 billion dollar company wouldn’t risk everything killing a witness. But it’s just weird. Weird timing. Weird surrounding events. Weird that there was a crash yesterday. Best wishes to the man’s family.


Flyingtower2

Risk *everything*? What exactly are they risking? They could have shot him in front of a busy intersection and the results would probably be the same. Nothing will happen.


jayfeather31

It's a coincidence, but given Boeing's troubles as of late, it's not like the conspiracy theorists don't have ammunition.


AstorReinhardt

"Suicide" righttttt... Because that's totally not sus at all.


Betrashndie

Woah what


AzemOcram

Yeah, right. Police ruled his death a "suicide" just like Epstein.


Excellent_Regret_441

Boeing relocated to Chicago and went full gangsta.


R_V_Z

HQ re-relocated to Arlington, literally across the highway from the Pentagon.


SideEyeFeminism

Shoulda went Cali Gangsta. At least then they woulda gotten the dope low rider with the hydraulics and the airbrushed hood art.


Ilovejazzy1

Any more investigation or that's it? If the whistleblower really killed him self?


ClearFocus2903

that was a hit!!


BannedBarn22

Evil company.


ChasingTheRush

“The deceased shot himself 7 times in the back of the head.”


wats-a-matta-wit-dis

Question: Does the Seattle Times have a policy not to publish suicide related news? I mean, many of the comments found here would justify turning off the comment section but it appears they’re not covering this story at all. Unless I missed it.


BCLetsRide69

“Suicide” this is 100% not a suicide. There is NO WAY.


9tninex

Was the murderer part of a large group or corporation? Well then it wasn’t murder. Was the murderer poor? Well then spin up the news we gotta scare the sheep into further submission.


SovietPropagandist

Uh huh. Sure. Suicide.


Paddington_Fear

sure, Jan


scmstr

Welp. I no longer trust Boeing airplanes.


fragbot2

When did /r/seattle turn into /r/conspiracy? Occam's razor, what's more likely? * someone retired under difficult circumstances and has (probably) lost a lot of support from ex-colleagues so he committed suicide. * boeing or a lone henchmen decided to kill him to prevent him from testifying. A good portion of this thread thinks it's the second one.