Downfall:Â The Case Against Boeing is a documentary film directed by Rory Kennedy from a script by Mark Bailey and Keven McAlester. The film, released by Netflix, describes the factors behind the crash of two Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in Indonesia and Ethiopia. For us, the discussion of this film is certainly very interesting.
I still remember when the Lion Air plane crashed and killed all the passengers and crew. The news was so shocking and worldwide. Boeing is a leading aviation company which is said to be the first and biggest crash of a new model Boeing 737 since its launch in 2017. Less than five months later, the same thing happened again, and this time in Ethiopia with the same type of aircraft and technical faults. This is certainly enough to prove that there is something wrong with this model aircraft. Almost the whole world boycotted the Boeing 737 MAX 8 for several years. What’s behind all this? Downfall: The Case Against Boeing tells everything.
The film opens by touching on the Lion Air – Boeing 737 MAX crash in the waters north of Jakarta. Everything is explained so coherently and in detail, with explanations from various sources that are firm and clear. Technical explanations can also be explained effectively to be easy to digest without dwelling on unfamiliar terms. After the same plane crash in Ethiopia, everyone knew that the cause was MCAS, which is an automatic mechanism that prevents the plane from suddenly dipping upwards. A tool that is made to prevent a catastrophe is making the disaster. How could that be? Not only talking about MCAS and its investigation, but interestingly, this film pulls the plot back to see the historical side, what happened to the Boeing company in the last few decades. In the end, it’s all just a matter of cooperation and money.
The presented storyline never makes us feel bored. We don’t know much about many surprises of information in the media. The discussion portion is also very balanced, between the victims, pilots, independent investigative teams (journalists), policymakers (US Senate), former Boeing employees, and aviation observers. Unfortunately, there are no sources from Boeing and the FAA (the US’s regulator of aviation licensing and regulations). There was an indication of a bargain between the FAA and Boeing in several segments, but unfortunately, this was not explained in detail. A huge amount of money must be behind all of this.
Downfall:Â The Case Against Boeing is a comprehensive, slick, light, and touching account and investigation behind two tragic plane crash a few years ago. This documentary can explain to all audiences through various perspectives behind the two fateful events. A tragic fact is that humans have a greedy nature that sometimes does not care about the safety of many people just for money. If you cried watching this film, give your tears not just for the victims and their families but because of our actions and nature that allowed this tragic tragedy to happen.
