Partial List of Airliner Disasters Enabled by Rampant Corruption The book, Unfriendly Skies: 20th & 21st Centuries, by former federal aviation safety agent Rodney Stich, is based upon government documents and what the author−a federal investigator holding key oversight responsibilities at United Airlines−and other inspectors, discovered. The documented pattern of hard-core misconduct within the FAA, responsible for a long list of preventable airline crashes and deaths, played a role in encouraging and insuring the success of the four groups of terrorists that hijacked four airliners on September 11, 2001. The corrupt culture within the FAA resulted in in a standard pattern of refusing to order the simply changes reported by federal air safety inspectors that would have prevented the September 11 hijackings−and many others during the preceding 40 years. As a result of documented arrogance, corruption, and criminal acts, over 4,000 men, women, and children, were killed in a brutal manner, and brought about catastrophic financial and personal consequences, plus enormous threats to national security. Many people, beyond the comprehension of almost everyone, became enablers in the nearly 3,000 deaths on 9/11, and many others prior to that date. The following fatal crashes were directly involved with the pattern of arrogance and documented air safety and criminal misconduct officially reported against United Airlines and FAA management personnel. These records are in Stich's possession. These corrupt acts, some of which are detailed and documented in Unfriendly Skies: 20th & 21st Centuries, played a major causative and permissive role in many air disasters. Further, the same misconduct associated with a long line of preventable airline disasters was similar to the misconduct responsible for other tragedies, including the housing and financial frauds that are dramatically affecting the lives of most Americans today. The corruption responsible for thousands of preventable deaths in the aviation environment did not and does not exist in ma vacuum. It has mutated throughout the United States. United Airlines Crash into New York City The world's worst airline disasters at the time that Stich was an FAA airline safety inspector was the United Airlines DC-8 crash into the heart of New York City. It was one of the crashes that caused the FAA to give to FAA inspector Rodney Stich the hands-on assignment to correct the conditions responsible for the worst series of airline disasters in the nation's history (and certain key people at United Airlines was responsible for the majority of them). The direct cause of the crash was the pilot's incredibly poor performance, which arose from the documented refusal by United Airlines personnel to provide legally required training and competency checks to its crewmembers, falsification of its safety records, threats upon federal air safety inspectors who sought report and take corrective actions on these matters. And much more. By pressuring FAA management to ignore these major safety violations, United Airlines management personnel played key roles in a 20-year-pattern of fatal crashes associated with these problems, and played a key role in the FAA culture. This culture resulted in FAA refusal to order the simple corrective actions that would have prevented many fatal airline crashes, including the September 11, 2001, terrorist hijackings that would have been prevented by ordering two simple corrective measures. The danger of fatal hijackings was obvious from their repetitive happenings, and as reported by federal air safety inspectors−including Rodney Stich−along with the simple corrective actions that by law FAA management were required to order. Ironically, the next airliner crash into New York City after the United DC-8 disaster occurred on September 11, 2001, made possible by the same corruption within the FAA and United Airlines. Another irony, key people at United Airlines had threatened the two inspectors seeking to correct the problems resulting in a series of air disasters. In this way they aided in the continuation of the corrupt culture within the FAA that would result in other United Airlines crashes−and the September 11, 2001, tragedies. As usual, none of the people whose conduct enabled these great tragedies to occur ever suffered any personal or financial loss. On the contrary, they profited, while the people who attempted to report and halt the misconduct paid heavily. This same culture is everywhere in the United States. Most recent examples are the people whose misconduct enabled the conditions to exist that made it easy for four groups of relatively unsophisticated terrorists to hijack four airliners and kill nearly 3,000 people. Another recent example of the personal and financial harm resulting from know and repeatedly reported misconduct is in the current worsening housing and financial frauds. All of the above, and more, occurred in the areas of federal airline safety responsibilities of FAA inspector Rodney Stich, whom had repeatedly reported the serious safety problems, corruption, and even criminal misconduct that enabled them to occur. The culture of cover-up in the United States kept the system going as it existed, enabling such ripple effects as the hijackings of four airliners on September 11, 2001. United Airlines DC-8 Crash at Denver Airport United Airlines DC-8 crash at the Denver airport, in which many of the passengers were cremated alive. The direct causes of the crash arose from refusal to perform legally required training and competency checks, felony falsification of federally required safety records, threats against inspectors by United Airlines and FAA management personnel, and other problems. United Airlines Crash, Salt Lake City: Classic of Massive Corruption and Deaths United Airlines Boeing 727 crash at the Salt Lake City airport, another crash in which many of the passengers were cremated alive. The official report by the NTSB on the causes of the crash and deaths included: Dangerous high-sink-rate approach by the captain. Poor performance of the flight engineer for failure to shut off the fuel pumps and the fuel supply valves, which resulted in fuel being poured outside the aircraft when one of the fuel lines broke. Poor performance of the crew in evacuating the passengers after the aircraft had come to a stop. At that time, none of the occupants were injured. What the NTSB political board members deliberately withheld from that report included the following: FAA safety inspector-investigator Rodney Stich had repeatedly reported the dangerous high-sink-rate practices by pilots at United Airlines. Stich had made an official report of that same captain as having a dangerous high-sink-rate approach practice, which Stich observed on an enroute flight check from Chicago to Denver via Omaha. The FAA suspension of federal safety investigator Stich from all inspection duties after Stich had reported an even more dangerous high-sink-rate approach by a senior United Airlines captain and senior union member while landing at Los Angeles International Airport. The pilot's union and the airline put pressure on to remove Stich from his safety functions, a common practice at that airline that had unusual control over the government's aviation safety personnel. That NTSB members had been repeatedly told by that FAA inspector about the massive safety violations, some of which were felonies involving falsified records on major safety requirement that were never accomplished. The overall safety problems involved in a long line of airline disasters involving United Airlines and the culture within the FAA included: Unlawful refusal by United Airlines to provide legally required training and competency checks to the cockpit crew members. Falsification of federally required safety records. Threats by key United Airlines personnel to get inspectors transferred if they continued to report the safety problems and safety violations at that airline. Harassment against inspectors by FAA management personnel for having make the required reports on the safety problems and serious violations. As a result, 42 people were cremated alive in that crash. None of the guilty were ever identified. Instead, most continued to receive the benefits of the misconduct that directly saved United Airlines considerable money (while the insurance companies paid for the crashes). Stich appeared as guest on over 3,000 radio and TV programs, and over 30,000 books were sold for the various editions of Unfriendly Skies, making it probable that many of the next-of-kin knew about these problems. Not a single one ever made any effort to have these matters investigated. The only known reaction was to sue the airline for money. United Airlines DC-8, Portland, Oregon United Airlines DC-8 crash at Portland, Oregon. (Flight engineer and passengers killed.) Same problems with training and competency checks, enabled to occur by the usual endemic cover-ups. United Airlines Chicago Midway Airport United Airlines crash at Midway Airport in Chicago. (Everyone on board was killed.) Same problems with training and competency checks and endemic cover-ups. United Airlines Crash Into Lake Michigan United Airlines crash into Lake Michigan. (Everyone killed.) Caused by lack of altitude awareness that inspector Stich had previously reported and working on corrective actions, which were barred by FAA management who claimed there was no such problem. Same type of crash-causing problem as affecting American Airlines as it crashed during a night approach to Louisville, Kentucky during this same time period. All of these, and other crashes, occurred in the program for which FAA inspector Rodney Stich had primary hands-on federal safety responsibilities, while he was repeatedly writing strongly worded reports on the corruption related to them. The corruption being of key people at United Airlines and within the government's aviation safety offices. United Airlines B-727 Los Angeles United Airlines Boeing 727 crash into the Pacific Ocean immediately after takeoff from Los Angeles, with everyone being killed. Same problems as in prior crashes and some that followed. Further complicated by FAA and United Airline personnel ignoring prior warnings that the failure by United Airlines to have a backup-power for flight instruments would result in the total loss of an aircraft; the illegal departure with a non-functioning generator. As in prior crashes, the cover-ups by FAA management, NTSB board members, members of Congress, enabled these and many other preventable airline disasters to occur. Other United Airlines Crashes Enabled by Pattern of Corruption Most of the previously mentioned crashes at United Airlines occurred while FAA inspector Rodney Stich had primary safety responsibilities for the airline after being given the assignment to correct what was at that time the worse series of airline disasters in the nation's history. A few of the other crashes involving United Airlines are briefly stated here: United Airlines DC-6 crash during approach to Oakland Airport: United Airlines DC-8 crash into the mountains during a holding pattern at Salt Lake City. United Airlines CV 340 crash landing in the mountains between Bakersfield and Los Angeles due to fuel mismanagement. United Airlines DC-7 ramming of TWA Constellation over the Grand Canyon. United Airlines DC-6 crash near Bryce Canyon, Utah. United Airlines DC-6 crash near Mt Carmel. United Airlines DC-4 crash during night shortcut near Laramie, Wyoming. United Airlines midair collision near Las Vegas. Many Near-Disasters of UAL Aircraft A Boeing 747 departing San Francisco International airport missed crashing into a hill during departure when the pilot flying mishandled the controls during a temporary engine surge. Other near disasters were periodically made known to former federal agent Rodney Stich by pilots from United Airlines. American Airlines Crash, Cincinnati No other airline had the crash-after-crash history of United Airlines. Nor did the other airliners have the reputation among federal airline safety inspectors for the amount of deliberate and criminal misconduct and threats to have FAA management take retaliatory actions against inspectors who refused to look the other way. This particular crash is mentioned because it was due to lack of altitude awareness, a safety problem that FAA inspector had observed and reported in writing, along with recommended corrective actions. As usual, those recommendations were ignored. Paris DC-10 Disaster Enabled by FAA Misconduct Very few people, including airline pilots, remember, or even heard of, the deadly problems associated with the DC-10, the crashes, and the near crashes. Among the many problems with the aircraft were: Dangerous cargo door mechanism that resulted in an explosive decompression at high altitude when the cargo door suddenly burst open, causing the cabin floor to collapse downward and into the control cables, making the aircraft uncontrollable. Engineers knew of the problems and in one company memo an engineer wrote that in the life of every DC-10, an explosive decompression would occur and everyone would be lost. The response to that memo was that if anything was said now, the question arises as to who would pay for the corrective actions. The same FAA management in the Western Region, that FAA inspector Stich had repeatedly reported as captives of the industry they regulated repeatedly covered up for safety problems and even criminal safety violations that resulted in a continuing series of major airline disasters. Only a very few insiders in the FAA knew of the documented misconduct that allowed major design problems to go uncorrected. After the most brutal of the DC-10 disasters, a plunge of a DC-10 into the ground near Paris, lawsuits were filed in the federal courts at Los Angeles. Because of the insider knowledge that former FAA inspector Rodney Stich possessed that showed the arrogance and corruption that resulted in that disaster, Stich filed a friend of the court brief, as shown by the following documents: Former FAA inspector Rodney Stich filing papers as amicus curiae (friend of the court) in multi-district lawsuit against the FAA, July 7, 1975. (Adobe PDF) Department of Justice filing opposing friend-of-the-court filing, August 13, 1975. (Adobe PDF) Stich filing amended friend-of-the-court brief, August 18, 1975. (Adobe PDF) Order by federal judge barring Stich from providing information and documentation on FAA misconduct that made the Paris DC-10 crash possible. Another example of how the public never hears of the corruption in government, as the system protects itself. September 12, 1975. (Adobe PDF) This was another breakdown in the checks and balances that permitted the deep-seated corruption to continue, along with the crashes and deaths, of which the 9/11 aircraft hijackings were simply one-day's consequences. Other Preventable Airline Disasters After Federal Judges Blocked Exposure Numerous other preventable airline disasters occurred, in the United States and overseas, including from preventable hijackings and aircraft bombings. These included, for instance, the following: List being prepared at this time. Ripple Effects on 9/11 From Earlier FAA-United Airlines Misconduct The catastrophic events that are ripple effects from earlier misconduct is virtually never recognized except by a few astute insiders. This relationship is seen frequently in the books related to this site. And the matter of ripple effects−sometimes called the Butterfly Effect−could be seen from the culture of misconduct by key people at United Airlines and the most lasting misconduct within the FAA, and the easy hijackings of four airliners on 9/11. Other than the terrorists themselves, there were many people whose misconduct made them enablers in the events of 9/11. If any one of them had, instead of engaging in the documents actions to block the misconduct that made is easy to hijack four airliners, helped to expose the corrupt activities they were trying to hide, the terrorists would not have succeeded, 3,000 people would not have been killed, the excuse would not have existed to start wars with Afghanistan and Iraq, the million-plus people killed since the start of two wars, and all the other tragedies that the American people have yet to experience. But to understand this requires some mental exertion, so there is little chance of that relationship ever becoming known or used to finally become serious about doing something to halt the endemic corruption throughout the United States, in and out of government. Key personnel at United Airlines helped set the stage for a long series of brutal and deadly airline disasters. That corruption fed into FAA management, partly due to the revolving door syndrome in government, and then fed on each other. Key people at United Airlines were involved in massive safety irregularities that resulted in a continuing series of crashes and deaths, and even criminal falsification of government required records to cover up for costly safety requirements that were also standard at other airlines. Their misconduct fed up, or vice versa, the corrupt practices of key people within the government's aviation safety offices. The loss of two United Airlines aircraft to terrorists on September 11, 2001, were ripple effects from the misconduct years earlier of certain people at United Airlines and a great number of people within the FAA. Both of these groups engaged in corrupt, and even criminal activities, as described in Unfriendly Skies: 20th and 21st Centuries. The actions by both groups reinforced each other, effectively blocking the few competent and dedicated federal safety agents from enforcing government safety requirements. Many other crashes followed. But particularly ironic was that two of the four airliners hijacked on 9/11 were those of United Airlines. How ironic! And worst, as in the past, the misconduct by key United Airlines personnel in conjunction with key FAA management, resulted in the loss of other airliners, such as the two American Airline aircraft on 9/11. Primer on Responsibilities For Easy 9/11 Hijackings To help understand how the hijackings of four airliners on 911 occurred and the relationship to the problems former federal safety agent Rodney Stich discovered and tried to report and correct, consider the following: Four groups of terrorists were able to hijack four airliners on 9/11 because the known procedures for preventing hijackings were not implemented. Remember, if these were put in place, 3,000 people would not have been brutally killed on that date, and the reason for such peripheral effects such as the U.S. invasion of Iraq would not have occurred. If this is important to you, read on! Why weren't the preventative measures in place? The same reason why many other preventative measures were not taken that allowed decades of preventable airline disasters to occur: the corruption within the FAA that is a matter of records in the possession of former federal agent Stich, and described in the book, Unfriendly Skies: 20th & 21st Centuries. What people were involved in covering up for this corruption? The people involved in covering up for the corruption and even criminal activities include, among others, the following: Members of Congress, who for years were informed by letters of the deadly corruption affecting airline safety (as well as criminal activities elsewhere that affected national security). From 1964 to the present date, letters were sent to members of Congress on all of these matters, offering to provide testimony and evidence. Stich even filed lawsuits against members of Congress on the basis of the cover-ups, in an attempt to make a judicial record of their obstruction of justice activities. The corruption in Congress that was publicized in the latter half of 2006 were just the tip of the iceberg. Federal judges, through legal filings seeking to report the federal crimes to a federal judge, as specifically provided by the federal crime reporting statute. Federal judges responded by (a) blocking the reports; (b) issuing unlawful and unconstitutional orders permanently barring Stich from filing any papers in any federal court; (c) charging Stich with criminal contempt of court for attempting to report ongoing criminal activities. These judicial acts were obstruction of justice felonies and retaliation felonies. Media people. Starting while Stich was a federal agent attempting to get publicity to the corruption so as to bring it to a halt, Stich repeatedly notified in writing media people, stressing deaths and the great harm resulting to national security, and offering to provide the testimony of himself and numerous other former government agents. None responded, which made possible many of the nation's worst tragedies. Reasons for the non-response would include (a) those who are secretly receiving money from the CIA and other government offices; (b) not wishing to offend their sources high in government; (c) laziness, among other reasons. Department of Justice officials. Starting while Stich was still a federal employee seeking to report the criminal activities that he discovered during his official duties, people in the various divisions of the Department of Justice were repeatedly notified of the criminal activities affecting national security. Instead of acting on the corruption, they charged Stich with criminal contempt of court in collaboration with federal judges at Sacramento, California, among other things. They all made possible the conditions resulting in 3,000 deaths on 9/11, which were only one-day's consequences in only one of the areas involved in the corruption. Oh, one other group: the members of the public who knew of these charges, knew of the cover-ups, knew of the retaliation against the former federal agent, and who were too lazy to help! Sampling of other pages related to the 9/11 hijackings: Index of 9/11 related pages Comparison of blame for the conditions that made it easy for 19 terrorists to so easily hijack four airliners on September 11, 2001. Endless List of Enablers These horrific airline disasters and indiscernible human sufferings were enabled to occur by the actions of many people and groups. Some of the prior postings identify a sampling of these groups: Group One History of cover-ups by members of Congress FBI-DOJ corruption The American Public The American Public Related Web Sites Chronology of decades of corrupt activities by the CIA, U.S. politicians, and other members of the system, as described in the book, Defrauding America. Chronology of the arrogant and corrupt war on drugs−against the American people−as described in the book, Drugging America. Chronology of arrogant and corrupt activities in the deadly politics of aviation safety, as described in the book, Unfriendly Skies. List of print and e-books, some of which are available at no charge. Several of the Not-For-Profit Books Related To Widespread Internal Corruption Information on the books by former government agent Rodney Stich Sampling of early books reviews Sampling of complimentary letters/faxes to author/activist Rodney Stich. Email address for the author and activist against corruption in government: stich@unfriendlyskies.com. For more information relating to the author and his activities put "Rodney Stich" into a search engine such as Google or yahoo.com. The links run into many tens of thousands. Download DVD videos from Amazon.com to rent or to buy, onto your Windows XP operation system computer. For more information, click here. To order a DVD video download, click on the following Amazon link: Return to: www.defraudingamerica.com www.druggingamerica.com www.unfriendlyskies.com www.defraudingamericablog.com