Shivangi Sinha
In the last few years, many former employees from Boeing’s South Carolina plant have spoken about various allegations of improper work practices at the facility. Netflix’s ‘Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing’ also features interviews with some of them, including Roy Irvin and Bill Seitz. Both men had worked alongside John Barnett and shared their observations of the working environment at the plant. They spoke about some of the issues they witnessed during their time there, including concerns they had raised about quality and safety practices. Their accounts also provide further context about Barnett’s own concerns and the issues he had flagged while working at Boeing.
Roy Irvin is Thriving at His New Job at Rolls-Royce Today
Roy Irvin joined Boeing in 2009 as an investigator and was promoted to the role of Quality Investigator in 2011. He remained with the company until 2017 and, alongside others, later spoke about John Barnett’s time at Boeing and what they described as declining production standards at the South Carolina plant. It was only after Barnett’s death in 2024 that Irvin spoke to the media for the first time by giving an interview to the New York Post. He alleged that quality leadership discouraged investigators from writing up issues or pursuing corrective actions. He also recounted an incident in which he was allegedly asked not to pursue a corrective action. In another interview, he said that “gaslighting” was allegedly common at the workplace and accused the company of discouraging corrections involving 787 aircraft.
In April 2024, Irvin submitted written testimony to Congress. He was also deposed in Barnett’s lawsuit and had provided testimony the previous month. Irvin is now based in Flora, Illinois. Since August 18, 2025, he has worked as a Quality Assurance Engineer (QA Engineer) at Rolls-Royce Aerospace in Indianapolis, Indiana. Since June 1, 2026, he has also worked part-time as an Aircraft Mechanic at Kool Wings Academy. He previously studied at Vincennes University. Irvin has been married since 2014 and appears to have a daughter. Although he has acknowledged that speaking publicly about his experiences was not easy, he chose to do so because of his conscience and his belief that the concerns surrounding aircraft quality and safety needed to be addressed.
Bill Seitz Decided to Speak Out After John Barnett’s Death
Bill Seitz was a Quality Investigator at Boeing from 1978 and had worked alongside John Barnett when they were both moved to the South Carolina plant. In the documentary, Seitz said there was a time when he allegedly saw a manager using a sledgehammer to fix some loose bolts. He said he decided to film the incident and took the footage to Barnett. Seitz added that he was told to bring the matter to upper management, but when he did, he was allegedly asked to remove the footage. He said the incident caused him great concern, and it was under those circumstances that he eventually left the company in 2014. Seitz explained that, if it were up to him, he would never have spoken out publicly, but he chose to do so for his friend Barnett. Seitz has otherwise maintained a low profile and little is publicly known about his life since leaving Boeing.
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