Boeing Whistleblower Joshua Dean Dies of MRSA, Second in Two Months

May 2, 2024, 10:55 AM

Joshua Dean, a former quality auditor at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems and a prominent whistleblower, has died at the age of 45 due to a sudden, fast-spreading MRSA infection. Dean was one of the first to allege that Spirit AeroSystems' leadership ignored manufacturing defects on the Boeing 737 MAX. His death follows the recent unexplained death of another Boeing whistleblower, John Barnett, who died from a gunshot wound. Police are investigating Dean's death, which occurred after he was hospitalized with a pneumonia infection that rapidly progressed. He died Tuesday morning. This marks the second death of a Boeing whistleblower in just two months, raising concerns about the safety of individuals who expose safety flaws in the aerospace industry.