Reason two Boeing 737 planes crashed five months apart with 300+ deaths is revealed in Netflix doc
A brand-new Netflix documentary features multiple interviews with Boeing whistleblowers who were inspired to speak out on the company’s practices after the death of John Barnett, a man who publicly spoke out against the company.
The documentary also lifts the lid on two separate Boeing 737 planes which crashed in 2018 and 2019, leading to over 300 deaths.
Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing, discusses these crashes and the death of John Barnett in detail, as whistleblowers reveal the corporate culture at Boeing which allegedly led to these crashes.
The two tragic crashes sparked a major criminal investigation into Boeing, though they ultimately entered into a ‘deferred prosecution agreement’ which saw executives avoid charges and the company paid a major fine.
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Whilst the specifics of the crash have been previously revealed, Netflix’s documentary demonstrates how attempts to raise issues with production lines were squashed by management.
Recordings from Barnett’s testimony against Boeing show he faced a continued campaign of professional harassment, abuse, and retaliation for raising issues, stating that his pay was docked in a performance review meeting where he was specifically told it was due to putting complaints about the quality of the planes in writing so they could maintain 'culpable deniability'.
Two Boeing 737 Max planes crashed within five months due to the same issue, but it wasn’t recalled until after the second crash
The first crash took place in October 2018 and saw a Lion Air Boeing 737 Max airplane travelling from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang in Indonesia crash just 13 minutes into its flight. All 189 people on board the flight died in the crash.
Despite this crash, the newly introduced model of Boeing airplanes were not grounded until five months later when a second 737 Max crashed, this time an Ethiopian airline flight which had 157 people on board, including dozens of humanitarian workers and peacekeepers.
The 737 Max was grounded shortly afterwards following global pressure, eventually leading to CEO Dennis Muilenberg being fired.
As discussed in the documentary, however, Muilenberg and Boeing’s executives never faced charges and Muilenberg received a $60 million retirement package after earning $128 million in compensation during his time in the role.
Naoise Connolly Ryan, the widow of Michael Ryan who died on the Ethiopian Airlines flight, said in the documentary she was shocked to find out that Boeing had avoided real prosecution for the incident.
She said: “I went ‘no way’, 346 lives, brand new planes falling from the sky, somebody’s got something wrong here, this can’t be true. It’s like it never happened, the CEO should have been prosecuted, instead they wrote that senior management knew nothing about what was going on.”
Both Boeing 737 Max planes crashed due to a faulty system, but Boeing’s response has been criticised
Both planes crashed due to the same fault, namely a Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) software. MCAS was brought in due to the larger and heavier engines on 737 MAXs, with high angles of flight causing issues due to the shape of the engine.
When the 737s were at these angles the system was supposed to help them by forcing the nose of the plane downwards, avoiding stalling the plane.
Due to errors with the sensor system, however, the MCAS would assume the plane was stalling at the wrong times, and in both crashes forced the nose down and overpowered the pilots.
Initially Boeing implied that the fault lay with the pilots, pointing to international standards of training, however, a Congress investigation found that the company had intentionally withheld MCAS from pilots, though they deny this.
FAA estimated there could be 15 more 737 Max ‘fatal crashes’ in coming decades if the 737 Max had not been recalled, with Boeing and their CEO being aware of safety risks.
Naoise also claimed in Freefall that there were not just software issues but mechanical faults which she claims were not properly addressed after the two crashes.
One of the most severe criticisms came when families tried to sue Boeing for compensation, particularly the fear and suffering they would have felt in their last moments.
Boeing’s lawyers responded by claiming ‘undisputed evidence shows that death was instantaneous, and any speculation about what the passengers might have felt as the plane made impact is unfounded’.
In a statement to Netflix included in the documentary, Boeing said: “The allegations in this film have been widely reported over the years. Some remain unfounded claims to this day while others are issues that Boeing thoroughly addressed or continues to improve upon.
“Under the leadership of our new CEO and with feedback from our employees we introduced new Values and Behaviors that are strengthening our culture.”
LADbible group have contacted Boeing for further comment.
Michael Slavin