Whistleblower
FAA Whistleblower Policy
In the third book of The Lord of the Rings trilogy – The Return of the King – Sauron, the Deceiver, sends a pall of darkness over Middle Earth; it is meant to cause despair in his enemies. This paralyzing blanket of hopelessness conceals his terrible general’s march, while destroying confidence in Sauron’s opponents. However, the darkness has a rebound effect, in that while the cloud hobbled Sauron’s foes, it also blinded Sauron to his enemies’ counter movements. In the end, Sauron’s arrogance worked against him.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the intelligence community’s upper management – also known as bureaucrats – have employed a similar tactic, inducing despair, provoking capitulation, all while sewing division into their political enemies and the American people. A government agency had … political enemies? In their arrogance they broadcast their foolishness and crippled an exceptional program: the Whistleblower program (WP), perhaps irreversibly.
When President Trump commented on a Russian interference investigation by the intelligence agencies, a New York senator stated the President’s comments were ‘dumb,’ saying, “Let me tell you, you take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you.” Ironically, Trump’s comments were proven true in the Durham report. However, the senator’s arrogant statement demands revisiting because the senator was saying the intelligence agencies now had ways to punish their political enemies. A government agency had … political enemies?
The senator’s viewpoint somehow justified the FBI’s retribution. The senator should’ve remained silent on Trump’s comments, but like many bureaucrats, this senator defended any reprisals on a sitting President. Think about that, with a wink and a nod, a senator gave a quiet green light to ‘get back at’ the President. That’s disturbing on so many levels. Is that the FBI’s mission? How banana republic-ish.
Government agencies, like the FBI, going after any person … for vengeance? Crazy! What if the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told an airline, “No new aircraft on your certificate,” because the airline’s Chief Pilot was mean to the FAA? What if the FAA grounded medical helicopters or firefighting aircraft because the operator blamed the FAA for missing safety issues? That’s not just wrong, it’s unethical. Government serves the people, not the other way around. Incredibly, this NY senator who cheered reprisals went on television to push the idea … on live television. How haughty. How elitist. How dumb.
By dehumanizing all of us, this NY senator, and other political bureaucrats (not our leaders – there is a big difference) have abused the power of government to undermine all citizens’ freedoms – citizens on the left, the right and in the center. FBI bureaucrats further made known their disrespect for the Rule of Law and Process; they publicly advertised their disdain by sabotaging the Whistleblower Program; they weaponized their agents to destroy innocent lives. These ill-advised strategies will result in long term costs on freedom; they will have devastating consequences on both Justice and Safety in so many industries, specifically in aviation oversight and surveillance. Aviation safety has just been hobbled.
Let’s be honest, does ANYBODY trust the government anymore? Every single department has gone nuts. Out of control mandates; questionable medical practices; numerous train derailments; supply chain failures; they’re all realities the federal government hasn’t moved to correct. The FAA, the Department of Defense, Center of Disease Control, the Department of Homeland Security, and others, have failed in their responsibility to protect the American people. National defense is gutted; medical trust nationwide is damaged; the borders are compromised. The FAA has moved rapidly towards Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – DEI – without any concern about hiring qualified, experienced, knowledgeable inspectors to oversee aviation safety. DEI hiring was then taken up by the airlines for flying and fixing airplanes.
The FBI bureaucrats publicly broke promises of no retaliation against many whistleblowers who came forward to speak against rampant government corruption, effectively silencing each whistleblower (WBE) from the law enforcement and intelligence communities. But it didn’t stop there. The shortsighted actions on part of all government bureaucrats, their myopic ‘me-first’ decision-making processes, have crippled the WP’s integrity – all to obstruct investigations into FBI wrongdoing. At what cost? The WP is now paralyzed in all areas of government, not just the FBI. Departments like Law Enforcement, Defense, Energy, Immigration, Drug Enforcement, and Transportation, which despite all its other post-CØVID challenges, will now be even less safe, less effective, than they were before.
The bureaucrats’ conscious decisions to expose and intimidate WBEs compromised a program that brought forth information to numerous agencies that improved safety to their specific industries. Future whistleblowers, those who could have – would have – brought forth hidden dangers to Americans will not now come forth. They will think, ‘Why should I?’
During the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, I had the honor to work with FBI investigators at Shanksville, the Pentagon, and Ground Zero. These men and women were incredible professionals. Their skills, experience, and ability to avoid even targeting average Middle Easterners in the wake of the attacks guaranteed fair investigations. FBI bureaucratic actions over the last few years have destroyed those dedicated professionals’ unblemished reputations.
As for the WP, between 2009 and 2022, I worked as an FAA inspector investigating WBE complaints. Based on WBEs coming forward, I’ve investigated safety issues with international carriers, major overhaul facilities, medical helicopter services, commercial airlines, tour services, pilot qualifications, manufacturing, mechanic qualifications, and air taxis. Some WBE complaints were trivial; many were lifesaving on a grand scale. Certificate offices became aware of safety issues they never could’ve seen. Because these WBEs came forward – none received any financial compensation – the aviation industry is safer; hazardous events didn’t occur; lives were not lost. Of all the cases I worked, many benefited Safety in some small way that would’ve led to more serious events, while many could have been tragic, could have – would have – ended in loss-of-life events, but instead were fixed then and there.
The WP was designed to protect the WBE from retribution. When a case is received by the FAA, the inspector investigating the WBE is picked randomly, from a part of the country with no ties to the WBE or the oversight office. The investigation begins with private interviews between the WBE and the FAA investigator. Follow-ups may lead to on-site inspections, multiple interviews with multiple persons, in-depth ramp inspections, records reviews, legal consultations, audits, team investigations, specialist consultations, and, in many cases, certificate action. Result: employee safety improved; flight safety improved; maintenance safety improved; passenger safety improved … ALWAYS!
On February 10, 2022, in a Volume XIII, Number 167 article, The National Law Review asked the title question: “How Many Whistleblowers Does It Take to Make Flying Safe?” A nationally recognized law authority asked a question that should be on many aviation professional’s mind and everyone in the travelling public. Unfortunately, now the answer will be “As many as possible. But they won’t come forward.” Thanks to some government bureaucrats’ arrogant actions, an inexhaustible source of safety awareness has been crippled. Bureaucratic actions have brought about greater doubts in a system of doubts; a fear of coming forward to fix unsafe conditions; distrust in those who can help; and a guarantee that the hobbling of the whistleblower program in aviation will likely result in the deaths of innocents, the destruction of property, and the breaking down of resistance to terrorism.
The ‘outed’ (and ‘ousted’) FBI WBEs represented the Best. At least two formerly served in the armed forces with honor. However, these outed FBI WBEs introduced a new problem, namely the vacuum left behind by their departure. We’re already seeing these replacements’ actions in pursuing pro-life advocates and Catholics; parents at schoolboard meetings; political enemies; and those investigating the FBI for misconduct and abuses of power.
Bureaucrats at the heart of America’s present troubles are a strange lot. They boast about the good they’re doing, taking pictures of themselves in expensive suits, while they divert attention from the conflagration behind them. Government bureaucratic positions are only steppingstones to cushy private sector jobs and upper echelon positions, leaving the government agency inferno to still burn. But are these bureaucrats breaking the law? In 1978, the Federal Government instituted a cooling off period for government officials. The Ethics in Government Act was designed to prevent a ‘revolving door’ effect where a government official was immediately hired by private sector companies. The Act’s aim was to prevent industry companies from monopolizing on a bureaucrat’s influence and contacts, from manipulating policies and regulations, from unleashing unlimited favoritism. Instead, these bureaucrats boldly boast of their new positions while flatterers applaud their audacity. Who knows? Maybe the bureaucrat might remember their sycophancy. No one resents one’s career advancement, but seriously, how brazen can bureaucrats get? And the mess the bureaucrat leaves behind will take years, if not decades, to correct.
Look at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). What does a political ally to a President – aka, a Presidential appointee (bureaucrat) – know about aircraft safety? Or about rail, highway, marine, or pipeline safety? They approve accident reports, but what skills, experience, or knowledge do they bring to the NTSB? How can bureaucrats judge what accident safety changes should be incorporated? What about the FAA? Why were the FAA’s ISO 9001 qualifications, the FAA’s internal auditing system, done away with? Do bureaucrats understand why ISO 9001 was vital to industry safety? Do bureaucrats know the consequences of introducing unproven policies, like Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) or the dangers these divisive policies have on an agency as large as the FAA and the industry it oversees? As the CØVID craziness dies down, how will FAA inspectors handle the gut punch of DEI’s destructive effects? What facts even support DEI? Why introduce non-aviation policies into an aviation oversight agency without any data to justify them or prove their effectiveness? How irresponsible.
To be fair, let us revisit the NY senator’s remarks that showed approval to FBI bureaucrats’ actions, but this time let’s look at similar remarks coming from the senator’s party. President Obama made an uninformed verbal faux pas, saying a Cambridge, Massachusetts police officer, who was correctly doing his job of protecting citizens, had “… acted stupidly,” in arresting the President’s former professor, a man who was being adversarial, who refused to provide identification when the officer investigated a reported break-in. By the NY senator’s standards, the Cambridge police, or any police agency nationwide, should’ve gone full vengeance, loudly called out Obama for suggesting any member of law enforcement acted anything but professionally. Obama never apologized for his comment. Meanwhile, no law enforcement agency threatened or harassed any of Obama’s fellow bureaucrats, even though Obama’s uninformed comments were racially charged and biased to his friend. The comparisons were striking.
To those who cheer any of the FBI bureaucrats’ unethical actions, remember these transgressions – such as acting as political soldiers? – trickle down into actions against average Americans. Already the WP was attacked. Political bias guarantees the crimes committed by drug smugglers, child trafficking, and interstate criminals will pale if government agents are used as stormtroopers. There will be no repercussions for these stormtrooper actions. If you still cheer the illegal actions of bureaucrats, remember what Nikki Holland said, “It is easier to be fooled than to admit you were fooled.”
By the world’s standards, the United States is still a young nation. By comparison America is in its youth and – hopefully – has time to turn this calamity around. Unfortunately, our government is being run by self-absorbed teenagers with new drivers’ licenses. Time to take away the car keys.