Boeing whistleblower John Barnett made a grim prediction before his death, friend claims: ‘It’s not suicide’

Boeing whistleblower John Barnett made a grim prediction that he could potentially end up dead after raising safety concerns about the jetliner giant , allegedly telling a family friend: “If anything happens, it’s not suicide.”

Barnett, 62, was found dead in his pickup truck in a Charleston, South Carolina, hotel parking lot on March 9 — the same day he was due to conclude his closed-door testimony in a lawsuit slapped against his former employer.

Authorities — who are still probing his death — initially said Barnett died from a “self-inflicted” gunshot wound to the head, but his lawyers, family, and friends have since raised doubts over whether the ex-Boeing quality control engineer actually took his own life.

“I know that he did not commit suicide. There’s no way,” a family friend, only identified as Jennifer, told ABC 4 .

The friend claimed Barnett had speculated to her that he might end up dead after he started speaking out publicly about his Boeing-related safety concerns following his retirement in 2017.

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“He wasn’t concerned about [his own] safety because I asked him,” Jennifer told the outlet. “I said, ‘Aren’t you scared?’ And he said, ‘No, I ain’t scared, but if anything happens to me, it’s not suicide.'”

It wasn’t immediately clear when the conversation took place.

Jennifer said they had spoken about his upcoming deposition in the Boeing legal saga during that same chat.

The friend, who said she last saw Barnett at her father’s funeral in late February, when he was a pallbearer, believes somebody “didn’t like what he had to say” and allegedly wanted to “shut him up.”

“That’s why they made it look like a suicide,” Jennifer alleged in the interview.

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Boeing didn’t immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment about the friend’s claims.

Barnett’s attorneys, too, have expressed skepticism over the notion he died by suicide , saying in a statement earlier this week: “John was in the midst of a deposition in his whistleblower retaliation case, which finally was nearing the end.”

“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,” the attorneys, Robert Turkewitz and Brian Knowles, added.

The former Boeing employee’s body was discovered by an employee at the Holiday Inn where he’d been staying after his lawyers requested a welfare check when they couldn’t reach him by phone.

Barnett, who was found slumped over in the truck with a gunshot wound to his head, was still clutching a pistol, according to the police report.

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At the time of his death, he was embroiled in the ongoing legal spat with Boeing after filing a whistleblower complaint with the government over what he claimed were serious safety flaws he had detected.

Barnett had been a quality control engineer with Boeing for more than three decades before his retirement.

Two years later, he started giving a slew of media interviews alleging that Boeing had cut corners by rushing to get its 787 Dreamliner jets off the production line and into service.

Boeing workers have since told The Post that Barnett “made powerful enemies” before his alleged suicide.

An investigation into his death is ongoing.

In the wake of his death, Boeing released a one-sentence statement that read: “We are saddened by Mr. Barnett’s passing, and our thoughts are with his family and friends.”

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org .

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