Boeing Whistleblower Warned Last Year About Plane in India Tragedy

A former Boeing quality manager blew the whistle on the safety of the company's 787 passenger jet plane a year before one went down Thursday in a fiery crash in India, killing more than 200 people.

Check out this chilling clip ... John Barnett appeared on "TMZ Live" in January 2024 to talk about safety concerns at the time about Boeing's 737 -- but also mentioned the company's 787 Dreamliner, because he claimed the company's operations "put a strong effort into removing quality from the process" of constructing the aircrafts.

His bombshell allegations were that Boeing had been cutting inspection crews and expert staff for over a decade ... and suggested more due diligence was needed.

As you know, a London-bound Air India Dreamliner went down today in Ahmedabad, India just 30 seconds after takeoff. Out of the 242 souls on board, only one survivor has been located.

There is zero evidence yet of mechanical failure causing the crash, but we do know the crew issued a "mayday" call" immediately after getting off the ground.

As we've reported ... Barnett was found dead by suicide just 2 months after he spoke to TMZ.

Notably, he was in the midst of a lawsuit against Boeing -- alleging it retaliated against him when he sounded the alarm on practices he said were unsafe. Just last month Boeing settled a wrongful death lawsuit with his family.

As for the India disaster ... Boeing's CEO Kelly Ortberg says, “Our deepest condolences go out to the loved ones of the passengers and crew on board Air India Flight 171, as well as everyone affected in Ahmedabad. I have spoken with Air India Chairman N. Chandrasekaran to offer our full support, and a Boeing team stands ready to support the investigation led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.”