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=== Conspiracy theories ===
A [[conspiracy theory]]<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":99">{{Cite web |date=2024-03-13 |title=Conspiracy Theories Take Hold After Boeing Whistleblower's Suicide |url=https://www.insideedition.com/john-barnett-boeing-whistleblower-suicide-conspiracy-theory |access-date=2024-04-08 |website=Inside Edition |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Izzo |first=Jack |date=2024-03-12 |title=Boeing Whistleblower Found Dead in His Car with 'Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound'? |url=https://www.snopes.com//news/2024/03/12/boeing-whistleblower-found-dead/ |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=Snopes |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":7" /> that Boeing had assassinated Barnett spread widely after a woman who identified herself as a friend of Barnett's said that Barnett told her, "If anything happens to me, it's not suicide." She said that "they made [his death] look like a suicide."<ref name=":0" /> Boeing released a statement saying "We are saddened by Mr. Barnett's death, and our thoughts are with his friends and family."<ref name=":522" /> Knowles and Turkewitz told [[CBS News|''CBS News'']] that "Barnett was in very good spirits and really looking forward to putting this phase of his life behind him and moving on. We didn't see any indication he would take his own life. No one can believe it." Turkewitz called for a police investigation into his death, but later told [[Fox News|''Fox News'']] that he did not believe Boeing had orchestrated his death.<ref name=":12" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-03-27 |title=Dead whistleblower's lawyer speaks out: 'I don't think Boeing is behind his death' |url=https://www.foxnews.com/video/6349779483112 |access-date=2024-03-28 |work=Fox News}}</ref> Barnett's family said that "he was looking forward to having his day in court and hoped that it would force Boeing to change its culture," and that "he was suffering from PTSD and [[anxiety attacks]] as a result of being subjected to the [[hostile work environment]] at Boeing which we believe led to his death".<ref name=":12" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Blackstock |first=Elizabeth |date=March 15, 2024 |title='If anything happens to me, it's not suicide,' friend of dead Boeing whistleblower says he told her |url=https://qz.com/dead-boeing-whistleblower-john-barnett-suicide-friend-1851339005 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240315162633/https://qz.com/dead-boeing-whistleblower-john-barnett-suicide-friend-1851339005 |archive-date=March 15, 2024 |access-date=March 15, 2024 |work=Quartz}}</ref> His attorneys said in a statement after the release of the coroner's report, "Mr. Barnett’s last words make clear that while Boeing may not have pulled the trigger, the company is responsible for his death."<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last=Bedigan |first=Mike |date=2024-06-18 |title=Dead Boeing whistleblower’s family says company responsible for his death |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/boeing-whistleblower-death-john-barnett-b2564688.html |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref>
In May 2024, the conspiracy theory<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" /> that Boeing had plotted to have whistleblowers murdered again spread on social media after another aviation whistleblower associated with Boeing also represented by Barnett's attorney, Brian Knowles, died less than two months later.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Izzo |first=Jack |date=2024-05-07 |title=What We Know After Death of Joshua Dean, Second Boeing Whistleblower to Die in Two Months |url=https://www.snopes.com//news/2024/05/07/boeing-whistleblower-deaths/ |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=Snopes |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-02 |title=Boeing whistleblower dies following a brief illness, weeks after the suicide of another |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/boeing-whistleblower-dies-brief-illness-weeks-suicide-another-rcna150381 |access-date=2024-05-03 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> Joshua Dean, a former quality inspector for the contractor [[Spirit AeroSystems]], a 2005 Boeing spin-off, checked himself into the hospital after experiencing difficulty breathing from contracting [[Influenza B virus|influenza B]] and [[Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus]] (MRSA). He died two weeks later (May 1, 2024) after developing [[pneumonia]] and suffering a [[stroke]]. Dean and other workers at the [[Wichita, Kansas]] factory testified that they had been instructed to downplay or hide production defects on the 737 Max, which had a door plug blow off mid-flight in January 2024.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Ewe |first=Koh |date=2024-05-02 |title=Spirit AeroSystems Whistleblower Dies After Sudden Infection |url=https://time.com/6973635/boeing-spirit-aerosystems-whistleblower-josh-dean-dead/ |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=TIME |language=en}}</ref>
The deaths of Barnett and Dean prompted more than 10 new whistleblowers from Boeing and Spirit to come forward with similar allegations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tully |first=Shawn |date=May 9, 2024 |title=Exclusive: Boeing whistleblower deaths are prompting ‘more than 10’ new witnesses to come forward, says attorney |url=https://fortune.com/2024/05/09/more-boeing-whistleblowers-emerge-law-firm/ |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=Fortune |language=en}}</ref> Santiago Paredes, another Spirit whistleblower, dismissed the conspiracy theories.<ref name=":11" />
==See also==
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