Whistleblower and former quality auditor at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems Joshua Dean, 45, has suddenly died of an infection that spread rapidly throughout his body. Dean, of Wichita, KS, where Spirit is based, was in good health and had an active and healthy lifestyle. According to his aunt, Carol Parsons, Dean died Tuesday morning after two weeks in critical condition. Dean was among the first whistleblowers to sound the alarm on manufacturing defects on the 737 MAX. He was terminated in April 2023; thereafter he began speaking out about how Spirit leadership ignored serious quality defects with the aircrafts.Dean filed a Department of Labour complaint saying he was fired out of retaliation to him voicing concerns there were safety issues.He alleged the Boeing supplier’s management ignored these allegations in a deposition for a Spirit shareholder lawsuit. He also filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) alleging “serious and gross misconduct by senior quality management of the 737 production line, per the Seattle Times. Spirit spokesperson Joe Buccino said the company’s “thoughts are with Josh Dean’s family.”“This sudden loss is stunning news here and for his loved ones,” said Buccino. Parsons said Dean fell ill unexpectedly and went to the hospital over breathing trouble. Doctors hooked him up to a tracheal intubation (a plastic tube into the mouth or nose to open the person’s airway). He then developed pneumonia and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA or “Staph”), a serious bacterial infection. As his condition deteriorated rapidly, Dean was airlifted to an Oklahoma City hospital, where he was put on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine, which according to Yale Medicine, “takes over heart and lung function when a patient's organs don't work on their own.”Then doctors heavily sedated Dean and put him on dialysis. A Facebook post from his mother said he suffered from a stroke. There was a point when doctors considered amputating both his hands and his feet. “It was brutal what he went through. Heartbreaking,” said Parsons. Dean was represented by the same South Carolina law firm as now deceased Boeing whistleblower John Barnett, who was found by gunshot dead in his vehicle in a motel parking lot during depositions. Though the Charleston County Coroner’s Office claimed Barnett’s death was “self-inflicted,” investigations still are ongoing two months later. “Whistleblowers are needed. They bring to light wrongdoing and corruption in the interests of society. It takes a lot of courage to stand up,” said Brian Knowles, one of Dean’s lawyers.“It’s a difficult set of circumstances. Our thoughts now are with John’s family and Josh’s family.”In October 2022, Dean found mechanics improperly drilling holes in the “aft pressure bulkhead” of the MAX, which is the aircraft’s rear component of the pressure seal. He alerted management, but was ignored. “After I was fired, Spirit AeroSystems [initially] did nothing to inform the FAA, and the public,” wrote Dean in his complaint. The FAA responded an “investigation determined that your allegations were appropriately addressed under an FAA-approved safety program.”“However, due to the privacy provisions of those programs, specific details cannot be released.”
