On a Wing and a Prayer investigates serious allegations about the manufacture of Boeing’s 737 Next Generation aircraft, one of the most widely used passenger planes in the world. At the heart of the film is a question every traveller depends on: what happens when trust in aircraft manufacturers, regulators and the safety systems behind commercial aviation is shaken?
The documentary examines claims raised in US Federal Court proceedings that, between 1996 and 2004, ill-fitting and potentially dangerous parts were fitted to 737NG aircraft. Through former Boeing employees, aviation experts and legal testimony, the film follows the story from the factory floor in Wichita, Kansas, to the regulatory oversight of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Made by veteran investigative journalist Tim Tate and filmmaker Eki Rrahmani, the film was another successful collaboration between the two during the early years of Al Jazeera English. A forensic investigation into engineering, accountability and public safety, On a Wing and a Prayer asks whether commercial pressure, manufacturing shortcuts and regulatory failure may have compromised one of the world’s most trusted aircraft programmes.
