Boeing whistleblower found dead of apparent suicide

Barnett had worked at Boeing for 32 years before leaving the company in 2017, according to the BBC, which previously reported on his efforts to raise issues about the company's production issues.

The 62-year-old died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Charleston County coroner's office in South Carolina confirmed on Tuesday. The Charleston City police are investigating, the coroner's office said, without giving any other details.

Barnett was in the middle of a deposition in an ongoing whistleblower retaliation case against Boeing, according to a statement from his attorneys, Robert Turkewitz and Brian Knowles.

"He 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," they said.

Barnett was a quality manager at Boeing. He had "exposed very serious safety problems with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and was retaliated against and subjected to a hostile work environment," his attorneys said.