Ex-Boeing Employees Expose Alarming ‘Red Flags’ Before Crashes That Claimed 346 Lives: Faulty Oxygen Masks and Deteriorating Axles

WHEN two Boeing aircraft dropped out of the sky within five months of each other, claiming 346 lives, it sparked a major global investigation.

While families grieved and demanded justice for their loved ones, several Boeing workers felt convinced the tragedies were no coincidence.

They claim they had been flagging safety concerns within the company for years, but had been silenced for the fear of losing their jobs.

Accusing senior management of putting profits above passenger safety heartbroken workers turned whistleblowers and joined forces with the bereaved families in a bid to hold the company accountable.

And following the suicide of the first whistleblower John Barnett, more former employers have shared their damning revelations for a Netflix documentary, Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing.

But despite claims of corporate shortcuts, Boeing has escaped any criminal prosecution, leaving the bereaved families still calling for justice.

Some lost loved ones on the Lion Air Flight 610, which went down in October 2018, killing all 189 people on board, and others on the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, which crashed in March 2019.

Naoise Connolly Ryan, whose husband Mike died on one of the stricken aircrafts, says: “I don’t think I can walk away and just say there is nothing we can do and put my hands in the air.

“There has been no justice, no accountability. It makes me so angry and I think that we have to keep fighting. It can’t be allowed to just stay this way, something has to change.”

Based in Seattle, Boeing was one of the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers, with quality and safety its key watch words.

Aerospace journalist Dominic Gates says things changed in 2005 with the appointment of CEO James McNerney.

He had been a protégé of influential CEO Jack Welch who journalist Dominic Gates says was one of the first in America to focus on maximising profits at all costs.

McNerney was tasked with developing a new airplane – the 787 Dreamliner which was going to cost approx $10 billion to design and build.

Dominic Gates says he received leaked documents showing that Boeing’s plan was to build the plane for $5bn, half of what it would normally have cost.

Boeing outsourced major sections of the plane with parts coming from Italy, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and Australia.

Boeing quality inspector Sam Mohawk says: “You automatically knew that was going to have a direct effect on safety and quality.”

Parts started arriving from the different suppliers, and Dominic Gates says the plan was that the plane would be snapped together in three days.

Gates says when delays started to mount, Boeing planned to build a second 787 production line in an effort to increase production.

The new plant was in South Carolina and experienced staff were sent from Seattle – including quality manager John Barnett.

In a voice recording made in 2020, John Barnett explains: “Part of the agreement that Boeing made with South Carolina was they would hire the majority of employees locally.

“We were doing job fairs, we were hiring people straight out of college. Pretty much we got to if you knew what a screw driver was you were hired for Boeing.”

“These people weren’t trained the way they should.”

And mistakes started to pile up almost immediately.

On one occasion another former Boeing employee claims in the documentary he was walking through the production line and saw a manager using a sledgehammer to pound a pin into a landing gear.

He claims he reported it but no action was taken.

After the launch of the Dreamliner in 2011, Boeing was in major financial trouble. It was facing competition from rival Airbus who announced it was putting new engines on its most popular jet which would save around 20% on fuel costs.

With Airbus over-taking them Jim McNerney wanted a new plane to challenge for top spot but that would take years.

So instead he decided to put new fuel-efficient engines on the existing 737 to create the 737 Max, immediately boosting sales.

McNerney stepped down in 2015 but the cost-cutting agenda would continue under his hand-picked successor Dennis Muilenburg.

John Barnett recalled being called to a Dreamliner where he claimed slivers of metal had been found on electronic wiring under the floor board.

He feared they would cause wires to short circuit and bring down a plane, but when he flagged it up he claimed he was told it would cost too much money and take too much time to clean.

He said: “How much is it going to cost if one of these planes goes down with 350 people on board? I said I will not put my name on this airplane saying it is safe and airworthy but they didn’t want to hear it.”

John Barnett claimed he was then moved from department to department, constantly flagging safety issues, until he eventually felt so worn down he took retirement.

In 2015 alarm bells went off for Boeing quality manager Merle Myers when he claimed some landing axles they had previously scrapped and painted red with the word scrap ended up being used in the Dreamliner production line.

“These parts were basically rotted and as I started to research it I found that scrap parts were put back on the airplane for years and years.”

A corporate investigation was launched – but he claims not one manager was fired.

On March 10 2019 an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed shortly after take off killing all 157 passengers and crew.

Irish mother Naoise Connolly Ryan, wife of passenger Mick Ryan started to research. “I learned that this wasn’t even the first Max crash. Brand new planes falling from the sky twice. How could this be? I wanted answers.”

A near identical 737 max aircraft had crashed off Indonesia just five months previously, in very similar circumstances.

The Boeing 737 Max fleet was grounded as an investigation was launched, uncovering a chilling catalogue of errors.

Naoise says: “My kids are aware that their dad got on a plane and the plane was made by bad guys. My son asked me, ‘will we catch the bad guys?’ And I said I don’t know, we will have to wait and see.”

Muileburg refused to quit, but was eventually fired.

He was replaced by chairman of the board Dave Calhoun, as Boeing faced multiple investigations, including a criminal one.

But in 2021 it was announced the DoJ would end the criminal investigation, with a probationary period, if Boeing paid a $2.5bn fine and met other conditions.

Furious Naoise Connolly Ryan says: ” The CEO should have been prosecuted, instead they wrote that senior management knew nothing about what was going on.

“It is utter disbelief that somebody could get away with killing 346 people.”

John Barnett knew his safety concerns were still relevant, so he turned whistleblower.

He said: “We are talking aeroplanes, we are talking people’s lives, we are talking flying public, I can’t sit back and let that go. I wasn’t going to sit down and shut up.”

And the families started to keep track of incidents with Boeing’s aircraft and liaise with whistleblowers to build a case.

But the new Boeing CEO told authorities he was putting safety first, and had created a speak-up programme for employees to voice concerns.

And the Boeing 737 Max fleet was allowed to take to the skies once again.

But once the Max was back in the air, staff say the whole atmosphere at Boeing changed.

Quality inspectors including Sam Mohawk and Merle Myers say they reported critical issues via the new speak-up programme, but say they suffered intimidation at work and feared for their jobs for speaking out.

Meanwhile John Barnett filed a case against Boeing for exposure to a hostile work environment.

One of the issues John claimed he was told to drop was his discovery that some of the oxygen masks on board the aircraft did not work, potentially putting lives at risk.

Two days before the expiry date for Boeing’s probationary period, John’s worst nightmare came true. Alaska Flight 1282 declared an emergency.

A door plug panel had blown out of the aircraft, the cabin began to depressurise and oxygen masks dropped down – but some passengers said theirs did not work and filed law suits.

Thankfully the plane landed safely – but it was a Boeing 737 Max.

An investigation revealed that workers inside the Boeing factory had taken off the door plug to fix things that suppliers had got wrong.

To do so they would have had to remove four retaining bolts – and a photo revealed that some of the bolts had never been put back.

Naiose Connolly Ryan says: “Everything that we had been saying, the Boeing culture is broken and that these defective planes are continuing to fly had just been proved correct.

“In a way it is a miracle, because not only was no-one killed.”

As the investigation was underway, John Barnett’s case against Boeing was being heard in court.

In March 2024, after seven hours of gruelling questioning by Boeing’s counsel, John returned to his hotel room.

He was found dead in his truck outside the next day with self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head.

John had tragically left a suicide note inside his Boeing notebook which said: “F**k Boeing. I can’t do this any longer. Enough. Family and friends I loved you all.”

His lawyer Rob Turkewitz says: “One thing is for sure, Boeing may not have pulled the trigger, but Boeing is responsible for John’s death.”

Furious at his friend’s death and how he had been treated by Boeing management, Merle Myers also turned whistleblower went to the New York Times with his claims about Boeing’s safety failures.

And other employees followed suit.

In June 2024, Boeing’s CEO Dave Calhoun was brought before a government hearing to answer claims that the company put profits over people.

But in November last year the Department of Justice dropped its criminal case against the company for the 737 Max crashes. Boeing was required to pay $1.1bn fine and commit to improving safety, quality and compliance. No Boeing CEO has ever been charged.

The last four Boeing CEOs received compensation and retirement benefits totalling almost $500 million.

As of March 2026, Boeing’s commercial airline division has not turned a profit since 2018, losing an estimated $40bn over that period.

In August last year, Boeing settled John Barnett’s lawsuit for an undisclosed amount. A second lawsuit for unlawful death remains pending.

The Sun has approached Boeing for a response who 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 rigorous oversight of our regulators.

“Today, we are grateful that customers, industry experts, policymakers, and our employees are seeing improvements in how we work together and deliver quality products. Our team is working every day to meet our commitments and earn the trust of those who depend on us.”

Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing is on Netflix now to www.netflix.com/freefallareckoningforboeing .