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A new documentary is about to arrive on Netflix, where the 93-minute film will uncover an investigation into 
Boeing, where Rory Kennedy continues to investigate the American airplane manufacturer on claims that it has continued to prioritize profit over passenger safety.
The upcoming documentary looks into the employees of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner factory located in Charleston, South Carolina, where safety concerns have suggested that workers wouldn’t ‘fly on one of those planes’. Merle Mayers, a Quality Manager at Boeing between 1979 and 2023, has suggested that parts were ‘basically rotted’ before they were fitted.
Inspired To Come Forward By John Barnett: A Boeing Whistleblower
John Barnett worked as a Boeing Quality Manager between 1985 and 2017, and his legacy has inspired people to come forward with quality concerns. Many have claimed they were retaliated against in the film for being honest, with some saying they found their tires slashed on their car as a result.
Barnett was found dead in March 2024, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Barnett faced deposition from his role, and in the years leading up to his death, Barnett voiced concern about the ongoing safety culture at Boeing, and even suggested that the oxygen systems would likely not function during an emergency.
Barnett’s suggestion that the oxygen system would fault came true in January 2024 after the Alaska Airlines flight 1282 door-plug saga. The aircraft, a Boeing 737 MAX 9, saw its door plug fly off at 16,000 feet (4,877 meters) above the skies of Portland, and a passenger in the documentary noted that the oxygen mask didn’t function.
Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing
The new film, Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing, follows the highly publicized death of Barnett, where Kennedy and Emmy-nominated producing partner Mark Bailey continue to investigate Boeing, where startling new allegations uncover systemic issues at the American plane maker. The film is a follow-up to the earlier film, Downfall: The Case Against Boeing, released in 2022.
In March 2024, Barnett failed to report for his third day of deposition, where he was later found dead of a gunshot wound. A coroner in Charleston County described the wound as self-inflicted; however, many conspiracy theories circulated that suggested Boeing had assassinated him, which was found to be factually incorrect. The Charleston Police Department confirmed that the death was suicide by firearm after a period of serious personal distress.
With excitement building for the new documentary release, USA Today shared statements captured by several Boeing Quality Investigators which noted that they were not surprised by the Alaska door plug incident, outlining they had known for years that something was eventually going to happen. Even 
United Airlines outlined that during preliminary inspections of its MAX 9 aircraft, the carrier found instances that appeared to relate to installation issues of the door plug.
The Sequel To Downfall: The Case Against Boeing
As already mentioned, Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing is the sequel to Downfall: The Case Against Boeing. The original film was released in 2022 and interviewed people and showed archival footage of the events that have shaped Boeing after the two crashes of the 737 MAX aircraft that killed hundreds.
The film looks at interviewees who have criticized the company’s capitalization, and at how the airplane manufacturer has consistently felt the urge to outperform European aircraft manufacturers Airbus, while being negligent about failures related to the 737 MAX. The film, Downfall, premiered in January 2022 and was released on Netflix the month after.
Downfall: The Case Against Boeing has received wide critical acclaim for its in-depth reporting and has achieved around a 91% approval rating on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. Its sequel, Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing, has its premiere at the DC/DOX Film Festival in June and will be released on Netflix on August 19.
