Boeing Names Independent Quality Review Leader

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A police investigation into a former Boeing manager who raised questions about safety at the company and was found dead after giving depositions concluded Friday, with law enforcement saying their findings point to the manager having taken his own life.

John Barnett, 62, was found dead on March 9. He was a longtime Boeing quality-control manager until he retired in 2017.

Since retiring, Barnett shared his concerns about Boeing with reporters. He shared details about the manufacturing process, and things employees or the company did that could cause wiring or oxygen issues on the aircraft, The Associated Press reported.

He was in Charleston, S.C., answering questions for depositions when he was found dead. His death caused controversy since it came after his whistleblower complaint, but police said his injuries were self-inflicted.

More than 25,000 people signed a petition calling on the Department of Justice to investigate Barnett's death, along with the death of Joshua Dean, another Boeing whistleblower, who died after contracting a bacterial infection.


 
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A police investigation into a former Boeing manager who raised questions about safety at the company and was found dead after giving depositions concluded Friday, with law enforcement saying their findings point to the manager having taken his own life.

John Barnett, 62, was found dead on March 9. He was a longtime Boeing quality-control manager until he retired in 2017.

Since retiring, Barnett shared his concerns about Boeing with reporters. He shared details about the manufacturing process, and things employees or the company did that could cause wiring or oxygen issues on the aircraft, The Associated Press reported.

He was in Charleston, S.C., answering questions for depositions when he was found dead. His death caused controversy since it came after his whistleblower complaint, but police said his injuries were self-inflicted.

More than 25,000 people signed a petition calling on the Department of Justice to investigate Barnett's death, along with the death of Joshua Dean, another Boeing whistleblower, who died after contracting a bacterial infection.



Well yeah. Despite what the nut jobs think, and with all the problems Boeing needs to fix, Boeing is not going around and killing people. The company is not an evil empire with hitmen on its payrolls.
 
Boeing and Airbus emphasized that there are no safety concerns after revealing Friday that some titanium parts used in their aircraft had falsified documentation, triggering a federal investigation.

Boeing did not say which models of aircraft or how many were affected by the titanium parts, but the company emphasized that it does not believe the discovery impacts safety.

"Our analysis shows the in-service fleet can continue to fly safely," Boeing said.

Airbus said the parts wound up on its A220 model, a relatively small airliner that is used on shorter routes, but that the model is still airworthy.



From what I understand, Boeing self-reported the issue to the FAA, which is a step in the ight direction.
 
Boeing and Airbus emphasized that there are no safety concerns after revealing Friday that some titanium parts used in their aircraft had falsified documentation, triggering a federal investigation.

Boeing did not say which models of aircraft or how many were affected by the titanium parts, but the company emphasized that it does not believe the discovery impacts safety.

"Our analysis shows the in-service fleet can continue to fly safely," Boeing said.

Airbus said the parts wound up on its A220 model, a relatively small airliner that is used on shorter routes, but that the model is still airworthy.




From what I understand, Boeing self-reported the issue to the FAA, which is a step in the ight direction.

The article is wrong. Boeing identified the 737 and 787 as the aircraft affected.
 
Why would this be Boeing's fault?


Dutch Roll is usually a design issue, but I've flown on numerous 737s and never experienced it. I think it can be induced by crossing up controls in level flight, and then correcting the sideslip wrongly, but the actual pilots here may and perhaps will correct me on that.
 
Dutch Roll is usually a design issue, but I've flown on numerous 737s and never experienced it. I think it can be induced by crossing up controls in level flight, and then correcting the sideslip wrongly, but the actual pilots here may and perhaps will correct me on that.

All variants of the 737 have been flying far too long to be a design issue.
 
All variants of the 737 have been flying far too long to be a design issue.

Right, the airframe has been aloft for fifty+ years. If DR was endemic to the airframe, this would've been mentioned before. That's why, though I'm loathe to implicate aircrew in most events, I suspect this might be a case of it.

Again, I welcome pilots here to comment and will happily take their correction. I just don't see DR as a big 737 issue and struggle to think what else it might be.
 
Right, the airframe has been aloft for fifty+ years. If DR was endemic to the airframe, this would've been mentioned before. That's why, though I'm loathe to implicate aircrew in most events, I suspect this might be a case of it.

Again, I welcome pilots here to comment and will happily take their correction. I just don't see DR as a big 737 issue and struggle to think what else it might be.

Like I said Boeing has some serious issues that need to fixed, but at this point it's practically slander by the press.
 
Like I said Boeing has some serious issues that need to fixed, but at this point it's practically slander by the press.

Yep, put "Boeing" in the headline and you're going to get clicks. The 737 is a good airframe. It's had some issues over the years (the rudder thing back in the early 90s, and of course the Max 8 software BS killing a few hundred), but Dutch roll? Nah. Airsick passengers will take note and complain online.
 
Yep, put "Boeing" in the headline and you're going to get clicks.
Memories of the DC-10.

 
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To follow up:

A Boeing 737 Max suffered damage to parts of the plane's structure after it went into a "Dutch roll" during a Southwest Airlines flight last month, U.S. investigators said Friday.

The incident happened as the jet cruised at 34,000 feet from Phoenix to Oakland, California, on May 25, but Southwest did not notify the National Transportation Safety Board about the roll or damage to the jetliner until June 7, the NTSB said.

"Following the event, SWA performed maintenance on the airplane and discovered damage to structural components," the safety board said.

The NTSB comment could suggest that the incident was more serious than previously known, but aviation experts said it was too soon to know for sure.

A Southwest spokesperson said the Dallas-based airline is participating in the investigation. He declined further comment.

A Dutch roll is a combination of yaw, or the tail sliding side to side, and the plane rocking in a way that causes the wings to roll up and down. The name comes from the way the rhythmic, swaying movement resembles a form of ice skating that was popular in the Netherlands.


 
All variants of the 737 have been flying far too long to be a design issue.
Yeah, plus the plane has a yaw-damper since it came out. Technically, I think the 707 and DC-8's had them (though I don't think the first 707's did)
 

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