John Barnett had worked for Boeing for 32 years, until his retirement in 2017.
In the days before his death, he had been giving evidence in a whistleblower lawsuit against the company.
Boeing said it was saddened to hear of Mr Barnett’s passing. The Charleston County coroner confirmed his death to the BBC on Monday.
It said the 62-year-old had died from a “self-inflicted” wound on 9 March and police were investigating.
Neat, I’m jumping on a Boeing 737-700 in about 8 hours. Nice knowin ya while it lasted.
That model was created before they started cutting corners. You should be fine.
It’s not a MAX so you’ll probably be fine haha
My southwest flight will be on a max 8 both ways. Wish me luck.