Another Boeing Whistleblower Dies Suddenly

Joshua Dean (45) dead of MRSA, second whistleblower to die in last two months

The Seattle Times just reported:

Joshua Dean, a former quality auditor at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems and one of the first whistleblowers to allege Spirit leadership had ignored manufacturing defects on the 737 MAX, died Tuesday morning after a struggle with a sudden, fast-spreading infection. 

Known as Josh, Dean lived in Wichita, Kan., where Spirit is based. He was 45, had been in good health and was noted for having a healthy lifestyle.

…Dean became ill and went to the hospital because he was having trouble breathing just over two weeks ago. He was intubated and developed pneumonia and then a serious bacterial infection, MRSA.

I wonder what caused the young and otherwise healthy man to fall so ill that he required hospitalization. Boeing’s defense department has a longstanding relationship with the Military Industrial Complex. I wonder—merely as an investigative hypothesis—if someone at Boeing was tempted to call upon an intelligence agency goon to get rid of the whistleblower.

I further wondered if Staphylococcus aureus has ever been a pathogen of interest for bio-weapons research, and I quickly came across a paper titled Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B as a Biological Weapon: Recognition, Management, and Surveillance of Staphylococcal Enterotoxin.

As the Conclusion states:

The use of SEB as a weapon of mass casualty is considered likely for several reasons, mainly high morbidity with ease of production and dispersion, the delayed onset of disease symptoms associated with high morbidity and low mortality and difficulty in diagnosis. Staphylococcal enterotoxin B is a superantigen capable of massive nonspecific activation of the immune system. Because of the remarkable toxicity and stability, they would most likely be disseminated as an aerosol, in food, or water supplies.

If I were investigating Dean’s death, I would examine the possibility that his car was contaminated with aerosolized SEB.

Generally, the story reminds me of Alaska Airlines mechanic John Liotine, who blew the whistle on poor maintenance that led directly to the terrifying crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261. Even though the record was crystal clear that Liotine had told the truth of the matter, he was still subjected to intimidation and defamation. Fortunately for him, he won a civil suit against Alaska Airlines instead of dying suddenly.

Joshua Dean is the second Boeing whistleblower to die in the last two months. As was reported by the Daily Mail and the Gateway Pundit on March 11.

A Boeing whistleblower was found dead from a self-inflicted wound inside his car outside a hotel in Charleston, South Carolina days after testifying against the airplane company.

John Barnett [62] was found dead on March 9. He worked for Boeing for 32 years until he retired in 2017.

“Barnett’s death came during a break in depositions in a whistleblower retaliation suit, where he alleged under-pressure workers were deliberately fitting sub-standard parts to aircraft on the assembly line.” the Daily Mail reported.

Barnett came forward with concerns about defective parts and serious problems with the oxygen masks.

Judging by these two cases, Boeing whistleblowers may experience a dramatic reduction of life expectancy after they decide to testify.