Joshua Dean, a former quality auditor at Spirit AeroSystems who sounded the alarm on defective manufacturing of Boeing 737 Max jets, has died. Dean, just 45 years old, passed away suddenly on Tuesday after a rapid decline in health due to an MRSA bacterial infection.
Dean’s family shared the news on social media this week. After being diagnosed and initially treated in Wichita, Kansas, his condition quickly worsened, leading to an airlift to a hospital in Oklahoma City. Despite the medical teams’ efforts, Dean could not be saved.
“He passed away yesterday morning, and his absence will be deeply felt. We will always love you, Josh,” said his aunt Carol Dean Parsons in a Facebook post. While an autopsy is pending, Dean’s mother Virginia Green described his shockingly swift decline from a healthy, active lifestyle.
Joshua Dean was one of the first to raise concerns about improperly drilled holes and defective door panels on 737 Max planes being manufactured at the Spirit AeroSystems factory where he worked as a quality inspector. His deposition in a shareholder lawsuit provided key details about when Spirit became aware of the “snowman” shaped, mis-drilled holes in the aft pressure bulkhead that could compromise cabin pressure.
Federal investigators are now scrutinizing both Spirit and Boeing over the latest manufacturing defect that led to the shocking mid-air door blowout on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 flight in January. Dean’s whistleblowing role highlighted larger issues of quality control lapses in Boeing’s extended supply chain.
“Josh’s passing is a loss to the aviation community and the flying public,” said his lawyer Brian Knowles. “He possessed tremendous courage to stand up for what he felt was true and right and raised quality and safety issues.”
Tragically, Joshua Dean is the second Boeing whistleblower to die in recent months. In March, former employee John Barnett, who was suing Boeing for retaliation, surprisingly died by suicide. Both men were represented by Knowles.
