Category Archives: TWA 800

Anniversaries

Aviation Safety, Ethical Behavior, TWA 800

Last month I passed another important anniversary in my life. It wasn’t a pleasant one, like the day fifty-two years ago in April when the beautiful young woman I had fallen in love with, pledged her undying devotion to our marriage vows before a Lutheran minister. I did the same, and we have kept them ever since.

It wasn’t the day that I completed my training with TWA and became a member of the fraternity that pilot/author Earnest Gann called a “Band of Brothers”, the airline pilots from around the world. Nor was it the anniversary of the birth our our children. A gift, not a curse as the current pro-abortion crowd would have you believe.

No, this anniversary was a sad one, because on July 17, 1996 230 people died an awful death when TWA 800 exploded and crashed after takeoff on a flight from JFK International in New York to Charles deGaulle International in Paris. I have lived with that tragedy every day since. I was shocked at the time it occurred, and became more so when I began to realize what was happening. It was my introduction to what has become known as the “Deep State”.

Like all conspiracies, what happened on that night, and in the days and weeks that followed, can be traced to a very few people. Their motives can only be surmised, but on closer examination a reasonable person can only come to one conclusion. The airplane did not crash and kill all onboard because of a mysterious mechanical failure. It was due to a series of events involving different individuals and organizations, At the very least it was a tragedy, in the worst case scenario it was a mass murder.

In July of last year, I posted a YouTube video of a presentation I give describing in detail what happened that evening, and during the NTSB investigation that followed. Here’s a link to that video:

https://youtu.be/4gEoyRLLb_Y

I hope you will view this from the prospective of an unbiased member of a jury. The facts are the facts. Even the VERY biased NTSB report concerning the “Probable Cause” of the crash couldn’t make its case. The simple fact that this type of explosion has never happened to any other 747, before or since, should give pause. Also, that the FAA and other similar agencies around the globe didn’t immediately ground the 747 fleet, as was the case with DC-10s and others, speaks volumes.

The NTSB investigation into the cause of the crash of TWA 800 needs to be reopened, allowing ALL the evidence to be included and considered. Politics were involved in the original findings. That is a travesty which must be corrected and the sooner the better.

The American Gestapo?

Common Sense, Ethical Behavior, TWA 800

From its inception, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been a problem, and not just to the criminal population.  From its inception in 1935, as the successor to the Bureau of Investigation, founded in 1924, the FBI has frequently acted as though it was above the law of the land, answerable to no one but its founder, J.Edgar Hoover.

Hoover was an extremely complex individual who in his 48 year career as Director of those organizations served under six presidents, from Calvin Coolidge to Richard Nixon.  Secretive, and some would say paranoid, Hoover was found to have kept secret files on numerous politicians, which he used to intimidate and occasionally blackmail those who would dare to oppose his views or tactics. 

Over the years, this draconian approach to law enforcement made him many enemies, none of which he appeared to fear in the least.  If knowledge is indeed power, Hoover had the key to a Pandoras Box which could ruin the careers and lives of a great number of very prominent people, and they knew it.

His distain for other national, state and local law enforcement agencies filtered down to his subordinates who then treated those they dealt with outside the Bureau with a condescending if not dismissive attitude.  As one can imagine, this was resented and led to many confrontations over the years which were dealt with by the iron fist of the FBI leadership.

Unfortunately, this culture, developed during the Hoover years, continued after his death, and many would say continues to this day.  The Latin phrase “Quis custodiet ipsos Custodies?” (Who will guard the guards?) definitely applies here.  As President Trump found out, not only were many members of the FBI not working for him, they were actively plotting to have him deposed.  Continue reading The American Gestapo? →

Not Guilty!

Common Sense, Ethical Behavior, TWA 800

After the Allies were successful in defeating Germany in World War Two, trials were held in the German city of Nuremberg to determine who in the German government and military were guilty of war crimes.  Many pled “Not Guilty” on the basis that they were “Just following orders” which had been given them by their superiors.  Those attempts failed, on the basis that no one is morally or legally required to do things which are manifestly wrong or illegal.

Now, we have a case where United States Marine Corps Lt. Colonel Stuart Scheller, shown above, is being held in solitary confinement in the “Brig” at Camp Lejeune, NC.  What crimes did he allegedly commit which would justify such severe measures, even before he was given a pre-trail hearing and allowed to secure legal council?  Now we know.

Scheller is accused of the following offenses under the UCMJ:  Article 88: Contempt toward officials,  Article 90: Willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer,  Article 92: Failure to obey an order, and  Article 133: Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.  Let’s examine those in order. 

Contempt towards officials: 

I guess he might be guilty of that, but he is joined by tens of millions of his fellow citizens, who were appalled at the actions taken by our military leaders, from the Commander in Chief on down, who unbelievably botched the withdrawal from Afghanistan.  Eighty BILLION dollars worth of military equipment, much of it sensitive in nature, abandoned to the Taliban terrorists?  Refusing to hold Bagram Airbase as the center of the evacuation efforts, and allowing the Taliban to maintain the security zone around the Kabul airport? Creating the conditions that allowed an ISIS suicide bomber to kill over a hundred people just inside and outside of the barbed wire at the airport, 13 American servicemen and women among them?  That isn’t behavior worthy of contempt?

Willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer:

I guess that was when he didn’t comply with what was essentially a questionable “gag order” from the Pentagon.  Bill Clinton did this when he signed Executive Order13039 on March 9, 1997.  That prohibited members of the military from telling what they knew about the crash of TWA 800 the previous July.  The reason given for that E.O. was “National Security”, but since the FBI and NTSB had already stated the crash was caused by a mechanical malfunction, what national security issue was involved?  We don’t know that to this day.  In the case of Colonel Scheller, the higher ups, all the way to the Oval Office, didn’t want to be embarrassed, or worse, held accountable.

Failure to obey an order:

As in the case of the Germans at Nuremberg, you are not required to obey an order you feel is immoral or illegal.  Colonel Scheller knew he would have to defend his actions, but he is a man of character, and was willing to take that chance.  I wish there were more like him, both in the military and in the halls of Congress.

Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman:

That is the most laughable of all these charges.  Is it “unbecoming” to speak out when you see an example of gross incompetence, which has needlessly cost the lives of American military members, and put the lives of American Citizens and allies at risk?  The “woke” culture which has been allowed to infect our military by the Commander in Chief, Secretary Austin, General Milley, General McKenzie and other high Pentagon officials puts this nation at risk.  Our adversaries don’t give a damn about transgender quotas, pregnant fighter pilots, or understanding “White Rage”.  They are concerned with defending their countries interests and dominating potential enemies.  As Rush Limbaugh was fond of saying: “The job of the military is to kill people and break things!”  An oversimplification to be sure, but the military isn’t there to “Nation Build” or anything else, but effectively defend this country.

I urge everyone who reads this to contact their Senators and Congressional Representative, and Demand that Lt. Colonel Scheller be exonerated of all charges, released, and if he so desires retire from the military with all his hard earned rights intact after nearly two decades of honorable service to this country.  Anything less will be a travesty of justice.

Look For The Agenda!

Common Sense, Ethical Behavior, TWA 800

Everything in life is agenda driven.  Although many agendas are harmless or even benevolent, they are still agendas.  Some individual or group wants to accomplish something.  Perhaps it’s to convince you to buy one product over another, or use one service provider to replace the one you are currently using.   It’s all in the power of persuasion.  But what if the agenda isn’t harmless, what if it  is malevolent?

In the quarter of a century since TWA 800 went down, there have been many theories put forth as to what caused the horrendous crash which took the lives of all onboard.  Some border on the absurd.  It had been brought down by a collision with a UFO.  It had inadvertently flown into the beam of a high powered laser being secretly tested by the government.  It had been hit by a meteor!  Yes, these theories were out there.

To those who were either directly involved with the investigation, had sufficient knowledge concerning aeronautical issues in general, or the Boeing 747 in particular, the entire process surrounding the investigation into the crash made no sense.  Why had the FBI taken over from the National Transportation Safety Board?  Why were the eyewitnesses to the event being interviewed in such a cursory fashion?  Why had a veil of secrecy descended over the whole affair?  What was going on?

Initially, the explanation given by the Clinton Department of Justice through FBI Agent in Charge James Kallstrom, was that they suspected a criminal act, possibly terrorist in nature, and as such had to make sure the legal aspects of the case would not be compromised.  However, it quickly became evident that there was something far more curious going on.

Instead of merely observing and advising the NTSB investigators as they performed their duties , the FBI agents under Kallstrom began acting like “Stormtroopers”, interfering with normal procedures developed over years of aircraft accident investigation experience, and indeed threatening to remove from the investigation any NTSB personnel who voiced objections. Continue reading Look For The Agenda! →

TWA’s “Day of Infamy”

Ethical Behavior, TWA 800

If there is a single event in the seventy-six year, four month and eighteen day history of Trans World Airlines which stands above all others, it must surely be what occurred on July 17, 1996.  On that warm summer evening several violent explosions rocked the 747-100 aircraft being operated as TWA 800, bound from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport to Charles deGaulle Airport in Paris.  The plane was literally torn apart by the explosions, killing all 230 souls aboard.

That in itself was horrific enough, but it is what happened after the wreckage hit the water off the southern shore of Long Island that makes it into “TWA’s Day of Infamy”.  I have produced a YouTube video of a lecture I have given around the country in many venues over the last few years, titled “The Downing of TWA 800 – What Really Happened”.  If you haven’t seen it, you can click on the following link to be taken to my YouTube channel.

https://youtu.be/4gEoyRLLb_Y

As you can see from that title, along with many other people within the aviation community, I do not adhere to the conclusions expressed by the National Transportation Safety Boards “Probable Cause” report which states that the airplane was destroyed by a spark of unknown origin igniting Jet-A fuel fumes in the Center Section Fuel Tank.  It supposedly generated a low velocity petroleum explosion of sufficient force to detach the front third of the aircraft from the rest of the airframe.

It has been a common belief in dictatorial regimes over time that “If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes accepted as the truth”.  It is my sincere belief that is exactly what happened in the case of the crash of TWA 800.  Certain people in the Clinton Administration feared, rightly or wrongly, that if the truth about the crash became known prior to November 3, 1996, it would seriously jeopardize the chances for President Clinton’s reelection.  So, individuals in several agencies, including the FBI, CIA and Clinton’s DOJ, concocted a scenario which they felt would be accepted as the truth, and indeed was by the vast majority of the media, who refused to examine the very large holes in the government’s suppositions.   Anyone who spoke out against what the government was stating were instantly cast as “Conspiracy Theorists”, and therefore to be dismissed out of hand.

It almost worked.  Clinton was reelected, the NTSB’s deeply flawed “Probable Cause” report was issued, and the “Deep State” actors continued to quash any opposing viewpoints.  It was a done deal.  Old news.  Shut up and go away!  One problem with that objective.

Two Hundred and Thirty people had died an awful death that night.  They might be just unfortunate statistics to the Washington bureaucrats and media lapdogs, but they were human beings, and their loss was extremely hurtful to their friends and families.  That loss could never be expunged by lies and deceit.  So slowly, due to the efforts of a few people, who I discuss in my lecture, the genie began to escape from the bottle the conspirators thought they had buried so deep it could never get out.

The events of the last four years, especially the last eighteen months, have exposed the rot which has become endemic in far too many areas of American government, especially at the Federal level.  People are beginning to realize that in many cases, we simply can’t trust everything from sources which were previously considered unimpeachable.  Cracks in the facades of agencies like the FBI, CIA and NSA,  and the belief in the security and safety of our election processes,  are beginning to arise.

Thankfully, there are those of us, even after a quarter of a century, who are unwilling to let the lies perpetrated during and after the investigation into the crash of TWA 800  be accepted as the truth.  Because we continue to honor the victims of the crash, and demand that truth prevail, TWA’s Day of Infamy will not be swept into the dustbin of history.  Right will finally triumph over the might of an unknown number of corrupt actors.  The only question is when?

Ask the Witnesses!

Common Sense, TWA 800

If there is one unimpeachable witness to the destruction of TWA 800 it has got to be Major Fritz Meyer. The YouTube video attached below is of a 2017 news program concerning the 20th anniversary of the crash. Watch it now. Pay particular attention to Meyer’s description of his interview with the FBI. Then come back and read the rest of this post.

Major Meyer and all the other eyewitnesses were ignored then, and have continued to be ignored to this day. Many of the government agencies which took part in, what only the most naive individuals must realize, is indeed a coverup. These agencies have been exposed over the last few years to be in fact not impartial, but totally agenda driven. The question must be, WHY? Who is being protected by this obvious subterfuge? Is it former President Clinton? Is it individuals high up in the U.S. Military? Unless and until ALL the pertinent data involving the crash is examined, and that includes the eyewitness testimony, the truth will never come out.

Unfortunately, in the “Alice in Wonderland” world that most of the media, and many of our citizens live in, the facts and common sense are irrelevant if they don’t fit their desired scenario. Two Hundred and Thirty people and my former airline died on that warm summer night twenty-five years ago this week. We can only hope that the victims of the crash died an instant, merciful death. However, there is mounting evidence that may not have been the case for all of them. The airline died a slower death, culminating on December 1, 2001.

The lies and deception which have occurred since July 17, 1996 must be exposed, and the corruption excised if the patient, in this case our country, is to survive. We must regain faith in our military leadership, our federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and the elected individuals who are supposed to oversee them, and are sworn to protect and defend our Constitution form all enemies, foreign and domestic. Reopening the NTSB investigation into the crash of TWA 800 would be an excellent start in that direction.

James Kallstrom

TWA 800

On July 5, 2021 James Kallstrom passed away. He was probably best known because he was the FBI Agent in Charge when that agency took over the investigation of the crash of TWA 800 from the National Transportation Board investigators on the morning of July 18, 1996.

Although he was undoubtably competent, Kallstrom had what was described by many of the people he came in contact with regarding that matter as an abrasive personality. In fact, many people felt he was a bully.

After the FBI had closed it’s criminal investigation of the matter, and with the blessings of the Clinton Administration appointed Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the NTSB, James Hall and Robert Francis respectively, Kallstrom continued to state that the aircraft had been brought down by an explosion in the center wing tank of the Boeing 747-100. Although the cause of such alleged explosion was undetermined, he was unequivocal in his statements that the aircraft had been brought down by a mechanical malfunction, and not a bomb or missile.

Kallstrom was vicious in his attacks against anyone who felt the evidence showed otherwise. Under his direction, the eyewitness testimony of hundreds of people, many of them very credible, was either disregarded, or even falsified. Whether he did this on his own authority, or at the direction of his superiors at the agency or higher-ups in the Clinton DOJ may never be known. He took that information with him to the grave.

He became the public face of the TWA 800 investigation, and was interviewed by individuals from all the major media outlets, either print, broadcast or cable. His replies to honest questions which seemed to dispute the findings of his agency and the NTSB “Probable Cause” report were answers dripping with sarcasm. It was indeed “His way or the highway”, so to speak

With his passing, perhaps some of his subordinates may be willing to come forth and shed light on the many unanswered questions about the crash and its aftermath that still exist today, nearly twenty-five years later. I dearly hope so.

The 230 victims of the crash and their friends and families deserve a reexamination of all the evidence, not just that which Kallstrom and his team allowed to be discussed, and without threats or harassment, which occurred at the time. In future posts on this site I will examine some of these in detail. I hope that all who seek the truth will encourage others to open their minds to all the possibilities, not just what James Kallstrom and his superiors allowed to be considered.

Our Black Hole

Ethical Behavior, TWA 800, World Politics

In previous posts on this site I have discussed my feelings about the direction in which our nation is currently traveling.  It is in a situation that, if not actively and forcefully resisted, will lead to our ultimate destruction.

When were the seeds that are coming to fruition today planted in the national psyche?  It is hard to say.  Abraham Lincoln knew that our Republic was an experiment.  Benjamin Franklin knew it too.  The experiment dealt with the concept of a free society being able to govern itself, without a non-elected individual of some sort, a king for instance, setting down the rules under which the population would be governed.

The Founding Fathers thought long and hard about that concept before finally agreeing on a constitution which would be the basis for our government.  What they didn’t provide for, because they couldn’t conceive of the concept of a professional politician or jurist, was a system of term limits, both for the Legislative and Judicial branches of government.  Even the Executive Branch, had no term limits provided for. 

Until Franklin Delano Roosevelt became President, all those before him followed the lead of George Washington, who refused to serve more than two terms of office.  FDR broke that tradition, and that may have been the beginning of the end for our Republic, because it made all traditional values optional rather than mandatory. Continue reading Our Black Hole →

Accountability

Ethical Behavior, TWA 800, World Politics

As I tried to decide who or what I should choose as the picture  for this post, I realized it could only be Hillary Clinton.  In my opinion she epitomizes the cancer of corruption which has taken over politics in this country. 

Although there are glaring example on both sides of the aisle,  there are far more in the ranks of Democratic politicians.  More importantly, that cancer has metastasized into the body politic of all those who vote them into office, and then are seemingly blind to their transgressions. 

I of course was aware of the various allegations against the Clintons after Bill was elected President in 1992.  Although many of those involved the sexual peccadillos committed by  oversexed Bill, there were also the darker issues of financial manipulations like the “Whitewater” scandal and the elaborate methods put in place to coverup  same.  It was pointed out by many people that a trail of mysterious deaths seemed to follow the Clintons as they clawed their way to the top of the political dung heap which Washington, DC has become.

It was not until 1996, however, that I became personally involved with the Clinton political machine, and witnessed what it could do when the Clintons felt threatened.  That happened after TWA 800 crashed shortly after takeoff on July 17, 1996, killing all 230 persons onboard.  What followed was a mobilization of the full forces of the federal government to initially distract public attention from, and finally coverup, how and why the aircraft exploded in midair.  That story is covered in another category on this website. I will not dwell on it further here. Continue reading Accountability →

24 Years Later…

Aviation Safety, TWA 800

 

An important milestone has passed. I had intended to write this message and post it at 8:31 PM EDT on July 17th, exactly the time when the event occurred. At that moment 230 people died when TWA 800 exploded in mid air after departing John F. Kennedy airport in New York on the way to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. The crash dramatically affected thousands of individuals who were friends or family members of the victims. It also was a major contributing factor in the eventual failure and dissolution of that once great airline.

The events which occurred after the crash, including the government investigation and subsequent “Probable Cause” report published by the National Transportation Safety Board in 2000 has been disputed by many very knowledgable individuals, including many people from various agencies involved in the investigation. Those concerns have been systematically derided and denied by government officials who are part of what has come to be known as the “Deep State”.

Credible eyewitness reports were ignored, and in fact tampered with by unknown individuals within the FBI and probably several other federal agencies. None of the eyewitness reports were allowed into the record or included in the final report. Several of the eyewitnesses were not too subtlety threatened by FBI agents to alter their testimony to conform with the governments positions on the matter. Radar tapes from the New York and Boston Air Traffic Control facilities mysteriously disappeared or were found to have unexplained gaps in their coverage. The same issue was found to be the case with the recovered Cockpit Voice Recorder tape. Continue reading 24 Years Later… →