62-year-old John Barnett died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Charleston County coroner’s office in South Carolina said earlier this week.
Barnett had previously raised concerns about the company’s production issues having worked for the company for 32 years before leaving in 2017.
According to his attorneys, Barnett had "exposed very serious safety problems with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and was retaliated against and subjected to a hostile work environment" and was in the middle of a legal deposition against Boeing.
"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," said the attorneys.