World's Worst Aviation-Related Corruption This page addresses the corruption and resulting airline disasters that federal aviation safety agents discovered at United Airlines many years ago, the evidence of which has been withheld from the public, and from the families of those who died as a result of the corruption. The details of this corruption are found in the book, History of Aviation Disasters: 1950 to 9/11. This serious misconduct was combined with corruption within the government's aviation safety offices, the FAA and fed on each other. Few corporations exist that have a documented history of corruption, documented criminal acts, related to a history of aviation disasters and deaths in an earlier period of time, as United Airlines. Because of the many key people in government that were complicit in these documented acts of corruption, the information has been kept from the American people. And if these matters were understood, the ripple effects could be seen in such great American aviation disasters as the hijackings of four airliners on September 11, 2001. The continuing misconduct of certain people at United Airlines was made possible by an even worse culture and corruption within the government's aviation safety offices, primarily certain segments of the FAA. Typical of the culture in government, that misconduct was covered up by the political board members of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Many people died in horrible ways in United Airlines crashes due to the arrogant conduct of certain key people at United Airlines, who were named in official reports filed by FAA inspector Rodney Stich. It is believed that today, the corruption at the airline does not exist. But it did exist for many years, and it was the great number of fatal crashes of United Airlines aircraft that the FAA asked Rodney Stich, an inspector in the Los Angeles office, to accept the assignment to correct the conditions that ere resulting in the worst series of airline disasters in the nation's history. None of the guilty have ever paid the price for this corruption; only the victims, their families, and the few government agents who sought to expose the deadly corruption. None of the guilty have ever suffered for their deadly misconduct. Classic Example of Documented 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 dutiesafter 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. FAA inspector Rodney Stich had written several reports on the dangerous high sink rate approaches used by senior captains. In one instance, as described in the book, Unfriendly Skies, the pilots union and the airline pressured the FAA to remove Stich from air safety duties after one of the senior captains objected to the tactfully stated comment that his high sink rate approach was not considered a good practice. FAA management then suspended Stich from conducting any competency checks for several weeks. More information about the deadly corruption that existed and was documented at United Airlines is found in the book, Unfriendly Skies: 20th & 21st Centuries. Series of Catastrophic Airline Disasters Motivated Extreme Measures The catastrophic consequences from the corruption that federal agent Rodney Stich discovered and documented caused him to become an activist and engage in an unprecedented numbers of efforts to expose and bring a halt to the corruption and tragedies. These unprecedented efforts included, for instance: Acting similar to an independent prosecutor, conducting several months of court-like administrative law proceedings. Part of his final closing brief warned of the consequences of a cover-up. During the proceedings, there were three more major airline disasters, each one caused by the same safety problems that FAA inspector Rodney Stich had repeatedly reported in writing, which was followed by the standard FAA rejection. At the urging of the FAA official in charge of the FAA Sky Marshal program, Stich sent a quickly prepared report to the FAA administrator detailing the corruption and the related crashes and deaths. Cover letter to that report. (MS Word) (Adobe PDF) Part One of the report (Adobe PDF format) Part Two of the Report. (Adobe PDF format) Part Three of the Report. (Adobe PDF format) Letters and phone calls to members of Congress, reporting the ongoing corruption in in the government's aviation safety offices; at United Airlines; the continuing airline disasters resulting from the safety problems, safety violations, and even criminal falsification of government required records by key people at United Airlines, and FAA management's criminal destruction of official reports on serious safety matters. Members of Congress replied, admitting the gravity of the charges, and then falsely claiming they had no responsibilities in that area. Reports to various offices of the U.S. Department of Justice, with repeated blocks to reporting the ongoing federal crimes. Refusing to work under the criminal environment, Stich resigned from government and then published books and appeared on hundreds of radio and TV shows, seeking to inform and motivate the American people to help halt the ongoing deadly corruption. Filing a series of lawsuits against the FAA and NTSB, seeking to report the federal offenses, as required under the federal crime reporting statute and another statute. Federal judges blocked every attempt to report the federal crimes related to the ongoing aviation disasters. Final lawsuit before the ongoing culture of corruption would play a major role on September 11, 2001. Lawsuit filed in the federal courts in New York City immediately after the 9/11 hijackings. That lawsuit sought to report: The corrupt actions by key people in the FAA that were responsible for the conditions that enabled the 19 terrorists to so easily hijack four airliners on 9/11. The corruption of key people in the FBI-DOJ that blocked the misconduct in the government's aviation safety offices to be reported and halt; that covered up for advance information from a key al Qaeda cell about the planned terrorist attacks. The series of corrupt acts by federal judges that blocked the reporting of the corrupt activities in the government's aviation safety offices; the corrupt activities of Department of Justice employees. The series of sham lawsuits filed by lawyers that knowingly interfered with the efforts to expose the ongoing deadly corruption, and which were parallel efforts to the obstruction of justice tactics by federal judges and Department of Justice employees. The multiple efforts to halt reporting the deadly corruption. See also sequence of events. Lawsuit Filed Against United Airlines The intent of the lawsuit was to focus attention on the serious problems caused by a few key people at United Airlines, but Stich and other federal airline safety inspectors had discovered during their official duties. That misconduct was symbiotic with the corruption within the FAA, which fed on each other. Lawsuit filed in federal courts at Reno, Nevada, October 24, 1988. (Adobe PDF) More definitive statement. (Adobe PDF) Summary judgment dismissal filed by United Airlines. November 27, 1988. (Adobe PDF) Enabling Links Between Two Great New York City Aviation Disasters On December 16, 1960, a United Airlines DC-8 crashed into the Brooklyn section of New York City, and was the world's worst aviation disaster at that time as measured by the number of people killed. The disaster was caused by the poor piloting performance of that DC-8 crew, as was the underlying problem with almost all of the many other deadly crashes that the airline experienced. That disaster, and a series of others involving United Airlines aircraft caused the Federal Aviation Administration to ask one of its most experience inspector pilots to take the assignment to correct the known serious problems at that airline: Rodney Stich. What he discovered and documented about the incompetence and corruption that a long list of United Airlines' crashes possible were many of the same ones involved in the hijackings of four airliners that were so easily hijacked on September 11, 2001. See www.defraudingamerica.com/links_between_crashes.html. Sampling of Crashes and Deaths Arising from Misconduct at United Airlines The following are a few of the seemingly endless crashes United Airlines experienced, each of which were enabled to occur by the safety problems and misconduct that FAA inspectors repeatedly reported and were blocked from correcting. Showing the mindset of some United Airlines FAA-approved company check airman, the father of a female flight attendant that perished in a United Airlines Boeing 727 that crashed into the Pacific Ocean shortly after takeoff criticized FAA inspector for attempting to report and correct the endless series of safety problems, irregularities, and even criminal falsification of government-required records, so as to disguise the fact t5hat the legally required training and competency checks had not been accomplished. That crash into the Pacific Ocean, with the loss of over 100 lives−including his daughter, was due to: The absence of a backup-powered attitude indicator by which the pilots could maintain control of the aircraft in the event of one of the many total power failures that the airline had been experiencing. United Airlines was the only airline whose management ordered the aircraft without that basic safety instrument. After that crash, as with other United Airline disasters, FAA management was forced to finally order the installation of that instrument. The aircraft had illegally been flown for numerous flights with one of its three generators not functioning. Poor performance by the flight engineer. A malfunctioning engine fire warning sounded shortly after takeoff, followed by the engineer shutting down that engine. That engine had one of the two remaining generators, meaning that the entire aircraft electrical system would be operated by only one generator. A properly trained flight engineer would have realized that the enormous power-consuming galley power had to be first shut off. He failed to do this, and the pilots failed to warn him. What happened next was the usual failure of the remaining generator as it's shaft was sheared by the sudden heavy load imposed upon it. FAA inspector had repeatedly reported the fraudulent money-saving nature of United Airlines flight engineer training program, that most of their engineers were not competent to act as a flight engineer−which a number of UAL captains also admitted to the inspector. Every one of those safety problems had been previously reported by FAA airline safety inspector Rodney Stich. If there had not been so much corruption of key people at United Airlines and within the FAA, that United Airlines flight manager's daughter would be alive today! Details of that tragedy, and countless others, are in the book, Unfriendly Skies: 20th & 21st Centuries. Ripple Effects Continued for Years Including the 9/11 Hijackings There is a strong probability that those people at United Airlines, identified in FAA records as engaging in various forms of corruption, made possible, or cultivated, the culture, arrogance, and corruption in those certain offices of the FAA that continued for years, and which were the areas of primary blame for the conditions that enabled four groups of terrorists to hijack four airliners on 9/11. This is no exaggeration, and these ripple effects can be seen when the full story of the corruption within the FAA is understood. 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. One effect of discovering the corruption at United Airlines−and within the FAA−was that Rodney Stich was so infuriated by the arrogance and corruption that he became an activist against high-level corruption. With the help from dozens of other former government agents and insiders, he discovered criminal activities in other areas of government that were inflicting great harm upon the American people and upon the nation's security. These are detailed and documented in the series of books related to this site. Credibility Behind Serious Charges By Former Federal Agent Rodney Stich Credibility for the findings and charges of former federal agent and whistleblower Rodney Stich is firmly established by the combination of the following: Many decades in military and commercial aviation. See his bio. Official Documents Dozens of official government documents with many excerpts in the book, History of Aviation Disasters: 1950 to 9/11. Charges Confirmed by Head of FAA Sky Marshal Program Report to FAA administrator detailing the specific acts of corruption relating to several aviation disasters, that was cosigned by the original director of the Sky Marshal program. The report in three sections: Part One; Part Two; Part Three. Details in a cover letter to the FAA administrator that accompanied the report signed by Stich and the head of the Sky Marshall program. (PDF format) (MS Word) Evidence Supported by Many Crashes and Many Deaths The occurrence of three major aviation disasters during the several months that Stich acted similar to an independent prosecutor, each of them due to the exact same problems that Stich had repeatedly reported and for which he suffered repeated retaliation by FAA management. Those three crashes and the many deaths were further evidence that the charges made by Stich were true—and which were also reported by other FAA inspectors. Unusual Background, Experience and Credential Extensive background and credentials of former FAA airline safety inspector Rodney Stich. Congress Members' Admission of the Gravity of the Charges Admissions by several members of Congress that Stich's charges of gross misconduct in the FAA were serious. Personal Letter by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron White Personal letter to Stich by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron White stating, "Dear Mr. Stich. As a single justice I can be of no help to you. I am returning your petition. Sincerely yours, Byran White." This letter was sent to Stich by the Supreme Court Justice after submitting a petition providing specific factual information about the areas of corruption in key government positions and the national tragedies resulting from the corruption. Admissions by Federal District and Appellate Judges That Charges were Serious Admissions by a federal district court judge at San Francisco and an appellate judge during oral hearings at San Francisco, admitting the seriousness of the charges made by Stich in a court filing. "Mr. Stich, these are serious charges, but they are for Congress to investigate." Stich responded: "Congress refuses to investigate. But I am not asking you to investigate. I'm here to report the federal crimes to a federal judge as specifically required by Title 18 U.S.C. § 4. In that way I make a record, and when a federal judge performs his or her duty and receives it, that judicial record would required Department of Justice personnel to investigate." Admissions by Famous Aviation Litigation Lawyers That Charges Were Serious, With Serious Ramifications Letter by Lee Kreindler, the head of a top aviation litigation firm, responded to Stich's request for help to expose and halt the corruption within the government's agency responsible for aviation safety: Since we do share ... a common interest in aviation safety and in view of your qualifications in this area, I would like to extend an invitation to you to visit our offices and talk further with us in this area should you ever have occasion to be in New York. Stuart M. Speiser wrote: I certainly appreciate the gravity of the situation described in your letter. In a subsequent letter, Speiser wrote: We found from looking over the material that you sent to us that the matter is so serious and complicated it would be physically impossible for us to do justice to your positions. Another attorney, in Denver, wrote: I wish to warn you once again that you are biting off an awful big piece when you take on United Airlines and the people entrenched in the FAA. As you point out, this thing is getting bigger and bigger all the time ... There are many ramifications that might arise. [That attorney was referring to the evidence that I had that certain people at United Airlines had engaged in criminal acts and that these actions played major roles in several major aviation disasters, including the world's worst at that time. His reference to the matter getting bigger all the time and that many ramifications would arise was true. For instance, major aviation disasters, enabled by the corruption, became worse; and as Stich's exposure actions increased, a powerful source in the federal government (Department of Justice) put into play multiple parallel schemes to silence and harm former federal agent and whistleblower Rodney Stich.] Assistant U.S. Attorney in San Francisco calling by phone and stating that he was asking Washington to support Stich's lawsuit against the National Transportation Safety Board. (Information in the book, History of Aviation Disasters: 1950 to 9/11.) Repeated official reports of FAA nonfeasance, incompetence in internal FAA reports and NTSB reports. Continuing Series of Aviation Disasters and Deaths Enabled by the Misconduct Occurrence of a continuing series of preventable aviation disasters. Letter of Agreement From Famous Aviation Figure After He Read the 1978 Edition of Unfriendly Skies. Supporting letters sent to Rodney Stich by Anthony W. LeVier, shortly after the first edition of Unfriendly Skies was published in 1978. LeVier was a famous member of Lockheed Corporation "Skunk Works," and was a famous airplane racer. Considerable Evidence Relating to Series of Corrupt Acts by DOJ Personnel Documentation about corruption by employees of the U.S. Department of Justice in the investigation and prosecution involving the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie. See book, Lockerbie to 9/11: Massive Fraud and Consequences. Boston criminal trials revealing the FBI agents in the Boston office were involved in murders with organized crime figures of American citizens. See book Crimes of the FBI-DOJ, Mafia, and al Qaeda. Evidence showing that key FBI supervisor in the New York City offices involved in murders with New York City Mafia capo known as "the killing machine." Evidence that high-level Department of Justice personnel withheld information obtained from key al Qaeda bombing unit of planned terrorist attacks so as to protect an FBI supervisor from being charged with murders. See book, Crimes of the FBI-DOJ, Mafia, and al Qaeda. Evidence that FBI-Department of Justice personnel repeatedly blocked a federal aviation safety agent from reporting corrupt and criminal activities associated with a series of aviation disasters, and then when that government agent became a whistleblower seeking to halt the corruption-enabled consequences, FBI-DOJ personnel charged him with criminal contempt of court and sentenced him to six months in federal prison for attempting to report these crimes against the United Sates that he and his coalition of other government agents had discovered initially during their official government duties; became involved in corruptly seizing the $10 million in assets that funded his exposure activities, and from the evidence, was the powerful source in government orchestrating the 20 years of continual multiple corrupt schemes to silence him. See book, History of Aviation Disasters: 1950 to 9/11. 9/11 Hijackings. Massive evidence of corruption that enabled the easy simultaneous hijackings of four airliners on September 11, 2001. See book History of Aviation Disasters: 1950 to 9/11. Massive amount of evidence in the heavily documented books by former federal agent Rodney Stich. A September 17, 2007, paper presented to the International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI) by one of its original founding members describing one segment of the unpublicized problems responsible for the conditions that enabled four groups of terrorists to hijack four airlines on September 11, 2001. (MS Word) (Adobe PDF) All of the above and much more are in the nearly 700 tightly packed pages of History of Aviation Disasters: 1950 to 9/11, and exposes far more about the conduct of people in control of the government of the United States then aviation disasters and terrorist attacks. Books for Serious People by Serious Professionals: Unprecedented Insight Into America's Government Culture All of the books are available at amazon.com, in print and on the Kindle, and at many other Internet sites. They bring together the various pieces of the puzzle to better understand the overall picture, and why the same conditions continue year after year. 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. More information about these books by clicking here. Amazon.com Purchase Links Get Your Own Blog or Internet Site: Easy and Inexpensive Get your own blog site, domain name, or hosting site at the popular godaddy.com hosting service. A low-cost provider with excellent support service. Click on the following graphic for information and quick start. 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