Rory Kennedy’s Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing is available for streaming on Netflix. It is a follow-up to Downfall: The Case Against Boeing.
Freefall follows multiple Boeing whistleblowers, including John Barnett, who died under suspicious circumstances before his final days of depositions in his lawsuit against Boeing.
These whistleblowers highlighted recurring manufacturing and quality control problems, a product of Boeing’s cost-cutting mania. John Barnett blew the whistle on defective emergency oxygen systems, metal debris near wirings, substandard and defective parts, and pressure from managers to ignore safety problems.
Sam Mohwak complained that Boeing destroyed records about non-conforming parts that failed to meet specifications. He alleged that parts were moved off-site in anticipation of an on-site FAA inspection. Roy Irvin was pressured to approve defective work and was reprimanded after flagging defects. He concluded that quality control employees lost the authority to stop production or prevent delivery when they identified serious problems.
Merle Meyers blew the whistle on Boeing’s practices, approved by managers, of using scrap and rejected parts, often removing markings with chemical cleaners. Meyers estimates that tens of thousands of Boeing parts have bypassed quality control. Sam Salehpour was moved off of 737 MAX production after he raised concerns. He was moved to the 787 Dreamliner production line where he discovered even more problems. Salehpour noticed workers using excessive force to piece fuselage sections together rather than investigate the underlying problem. He also noted pressure from Boeing managers to prioritize production deadlines over safety and engineering principles.
The documentary included more whistleblowers such as Ed Pierson, Santiago Paredes, and William Hobek. Many of these whistleblowers decided to come out of the shadows precisely because of the suspicious circumstances around John Barnett’s death.
FlyersRights still does not recommend flying on the MAX. Boeing’s history shows the dangers of self-certification and Boeing management’s excessive influence over the certification, oversight, and quality control processes.
Boeing’s executives must be held accountable for their decisions to sacrifice safety and human life for corporate profit.
