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Who was Joshua Dean? Remembering whistleblower's legacy who raised concerns about Boeing 737 Max
Remembering Joshua Dean, a whistleblower who raised safety concerns about Boeing 737 MAX defects. His stand has highlighted his courage and legacy as the world remembers him for his contribution.
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Joshua Dean passed away after raising concerns about 737 MAX defects
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His courageous stand prompted investigations by regulatory authorities
Trigger warning: This article contains reference to tragic death.
Joshua Dean, a previous quality auditor at Spirit AeroSystems, a Boeing supplier, died Tuesday morning after a sudden illness. His death comes amid controversy as one of the initial whistleblowers to raise concerns about manufacturing defects on the 737 MAX aircraft.
A sudden loss
Josh, as he was fondly known, lived in Wichita, Kansas where Spirit AeroSystems is based. The 45-year-old had been in good health and was known for living an active lifestyle.
However, he passed away from a rapidly spreading infection following two weeks spent in critical condition fighting for his life. In paying tribute to him, Spirit spokesperson Joe Buccino said that it sent shock waves through their organization as well as amongst all those who loved him dearly.
Courageous stand and a heroic battle
His journey started when he gave testimony during a deposition related to another case brought against shareholders by Spirit and filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 
Joshua alleged that there were major problems with how senior management overlooked manufacturing faults within this production line focused on 737 aircrafts. Though Spirit threatened to fire him in April 2023 if he continued talking, Josh still didn’t stop. Instead of being mute about it, he went ahead filing a complaint to the Department of Labor alleging retaliatory action was taken against him because raised safety alarms.
While there were signs pointing towards better days ahead for Mr. Dean, health-wise, things took a turn very fast which saw him being admitted into the hospital due to respiratory problems of severe nature.
From there his condition worsened rapidly leading to pneumonia and then subsequently MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) infection that proved to be life-threatening.
Soon the condition escalated to multiple organ failure requiring support such as an ECMO machine (utilized to keep a person alive while awaiting a lung transplant recipient whose donor lungs have an endotracheal tube inserted through the nose; down throat into the windpipe connected to a ventilator, also known as dialysis).
But all these could not save him as doctors tried everything possible including thinking about amputating limbs since they had become gangrenous but still no luck.
An ongoing legacy
All was not in vain for Joshua’s whistleblowing efforts. Regulators started looking into the safety issues he raised after making his disclosures. Although exact details are unknown concerning what specific investigations were conducted by regulatory bodies such as the FAA, it is apparent that there were some.
In light of Dean’s passing away, questions arise about challenges faced by those who expose wrongdoings. One of Mr Knowles' lawyers representing this brave man admitted they play an important role in society when it comes to revealing truths hidden behind deceitfulness.
However, he recognized the difficulty involved while at the same time sending sympathies towards both families (Josh and Mitch); another whistleblower from Boeing Company died earlier than expected too.
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