The fatal crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on Thursday has reignited scrutiny over the aircraft’s safety, drawing renewed attention to the late John Barnett, a former Boeing quality manager and whistleblower who repeatedly warned about flaws in the Dreamliner program before his sudden death last year. The crash, which occurred shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad en route to London Gatwick, claimed 241 of the 242 lives on board. It marks the first fatal accident involving the 787 since its debut in 2009.

John Barnett, who worked at Boeing for nearly three decades, joined the company in 1988 after stints with the U.S. Air Force and NASA contractors. By 2010, he was stationed at Boeing’s North Charleston plant in South Carolina, where he oversaw quality control for the Dreamliner assembly line. Between 2010 and 2017, Barnett raised alarms about what he described as a sharp decline in safety practices. He accused Boeing of pressuring workers to overlook defects in order to meet production quotas, alleging serious issues such as loose metal shavings near sensitive wiring and faulty oxygen masks—claims that could have direct implications in emergencies.

In 2017, Barnett filed formal complaints with the FAA and OSHA. The FAA confirmed some of his safety concerns and directed Boeing to correct them, but OSHA ultimately ruled in Boeing’s favor in 2021. Barnett, who said he faced retaliation and a toxic work environment, retired in 2017 due to health complications but continued to speak publicly about the risks he believed the Dreamliner posed. He appeared in interviews and was featured in the 2022 Netflix documentary Downfall: The Case Against Boeingwhich explored the company’s safety culture in the wake of the 737 MAX crashes.

His voice grew louder again in 2024 following a door plug failure incident on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX. Barnett reiterated his concerns, suggesting that Boeing’s quality control issues were far from resolved.

Tragically, Barnett died on March 9, 2024, just as he was preparing to testify in a whistleblower retaliation case against Boeing. He was found in his truck outside a Charleston hotel with a gunshot wound to the head. Authorities ruled his death a suicide, citing a handwritten note found at the scene that read, “I can’t do this any longer. F**k Boeing. I pray Boeing pays.”

Now, in the wake of the Air India crash, Barnett’s warnings are being revisited. His past testimony and the renewed tragedy have intensified global scrutiny of Boeing’s safety practices, reigniting calls for deeper investigations into the company’s aircraft manufacturing and oversight protocols.