Overall Corruption (AVIATION-1)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MERGER Boeing and McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas (Merged with Boeing in 1996-1997); Note: You will still see these planes mentioned. Old ties and problems could conceivably be linked to Boeing from McDonnell Douglas’ time. Money CNN 1996/12/16 Boeing, MD to merge: $13.3 billion deal will create the world's largest aerospace company https //money cnn com/1996/12/16/deals/boeing/ Excerpt: NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The Boeing Co. and McDonnell Douglas Corp. announced on Sunday that they plan to merge in a deal valued at $13.3 billion that will create the largest aerospace company in the world. The combined firm, which will operate in 27 states under the Boeing Co. name, is projected to have 1997 sales of about $48 billion, with roughly $28 billion from Boeing and $20 billion from McDonnell Douglas, industry sources said. Together, the two companies have a combined order backlog worth $100 billion. The stock-for- stock merger, announced in a surprise news conference Sunday afternoon, will have huge implications for the aerospace industry worldwide and in particular for Airbus Industrie, the four-nation European consortium that is the other major player in commercial aerospace. "In the context of defense consolidation, … we think this is a good combination," said Phil Condit, president and chief executive officer of Boeing, speaking at Sunday's news conference. "Now is a good time where we can put these together profitably." (QuickTime movie, 1.5MB) "I think it's particularly important as all the defense budgets around the world come under pressure that we have a balance," said Harry Stonecipher, president and CEO of McDonnell Douglas. Condit will serve as the combined company's chairman and chief executive, while Stonecipher will be its president and chief operating officer. https //money cnn com/1996/12/16/deals/boeing/ [Accessed from Internet on 2021/02/14] Endgame dot org Mergers, Break-ups, Affiliations with past and current companies, etc. http //www endgame org/boeing.html Excerpt: ACQUISITIONS AND MERGERS. In 1990, Boeing sold its 15 percent interest in Peabody (Coal) Holding Co. to Hanson PLC. In 1996, Boeing acquired Rockwell International's Aerospace and Defense Electronics. In 1997, Boeing's acquisition of McDonnell Douglas was cleared by federal antitrust regulators; the combined corporation is expected to employ 200,000 people in 27 American states and several other countries, and collect revenues of $48 billion per year. http //www endgame org/boeing html [Note 2021/02/14 this website no longer seems to be up] QZ (Quartz) 2020/01/03 JUMBO MISTAKES: The 1997 merger that paved the way for the Boeing 737 Max crisis. By Natasha Frost. https //qz com/1776080/how-the-mcdonnell-douglas-boeing-merger-led-to-the-737-max-crisis/ Excerpt: Late in the summer of 1997, two of the most critical players in global aviation became a single tremendous titan. Boeing, one of the US’s largest and most important companies, acquired its longtime plane manufacturer rival, McDonnell Douglas, in what was then the country’s tenth-largest merger. The resulting giant took Boeing’s name. More unexpectedly, it took its culture and strategy from McDonnell Douglas—even its commercial aviation department was struggling to retain customers. Reporting on the deal, the New York Times made an observation that now seems prescient: “The full effect of the proposed merger on employees, communities, competitors, customers and investors will not be known for months, maybe even years.” Nearly 20 years later, one such effect has become the aviation story of the year, or perhaps the decade—the crashes of two 737 Max jets and the loss of 346 lives, not to mention the still-rising associated costs of around $10 billion. In a clash of corporate cultures, where Boeing’s engineers and McDonnell Douglas’s bean-counters went head-to-head, the smaller company won out. The result was a move away from expensive, ground- breaking engineering and toward what some called a more cut-throat culture, devoted to keeping costs down and favoring upgrading older models at the expense of wholesale innovation… https //qz com/1776080/how-the-mcdonnell-douglas-boeing-merger-led-to-the-737-max-crisis/ AIRBUS Corruption, Issues Biz Journals 2017/03/17 Airbus Fraud Probe https //www bizjournals com/seattle/news/2017/03/17/corruption-probe-targeting-boeing-rival-airbus html Haaretz 2012/07/12 Force Airbus to Confront Its Nazi Roots: Despite the recent purchase, no one is uttering a word about the deep involvement of Airbus' German owners in Nazi slave labor. Arkia Airlines Purchase. By Anshel Pfeffer. haaretz dot com/israel-news/arkia-s-purchase-of-airliners-should-force-airbus-to-confront-its-nazi-roots- 1.450743 New York Times 2011/01/03 Wikileaks Boeing: Diplomats Help Push Sales of Jetliners on the Global Market Excerpt: This is the high-stakes, international bazaar for large commercial jets, where tens of billions of dollars are on the line, along with hundreds of thousands of high-paying jobs. At its heart, it is a wrestling match fought daily by executives at two giant companies, Boeing and Airbus, in which each controls about half of the global market for such planes. To a greater degree than previously known, diplomats are a big part of the sales force, according to hundreds of cables released by WikiLeaks, which describe politicking and cajoling at the highest levels. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/03/business/03wikileaks-boeing.html?pagewanted=all Fortune 2017/07/05 China Deal 23 billion http //fortune com/2017/07/05/airbus-china-deal-23-billion/ BOMBARDIER - Canadian Against Crony Capitalism dot org 2017/04 Boeing to U.S.: Put tariffs on Canadian rival Bombardier http //www againstcronycapitalism org/2017/04/boeing-to-u-s-put-tariffs-on-canadian-rival-bombardier/ FAA CORRUPTION (Federal Aviation Administration) FAA and Boeing - Corruption Issues The Last Boeing Inspector Boeing FAA working together fraud negating Boeing airplane quality http //www thelastboeinginspector com/the-boeing-faa-working-together-fraud-negating-boeing-airplane- quality html Seattle Times 2017/02/12 Updated April 18, 2017 Falsified Papers, Sloppy Work Led to Fine Boeing. By Dominic Gates http //www seattletimes com/business/boeing-aerospace/falsified-papers-sloppy-work-led-faa-to-fine-boeing/ Excerpt: Documents released to The Seattle Times by the FAA concerning a 2015 settlement with Boeing reveal a pattern of quality issues in aircraft production. Though Boeing paid $12 million in late 2015 to settle more than a dozen Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigations, details of the problems found by the safety agency were not disclosed at the time. Documents obtained this month by The Seattle Times through a Freedom of Information Act request show the cases revealed a disquieting pattern of falsified paperwork and ignored procedures that created quality issues on the production lines of Boeing and its suppliers. The FAA found that Boeing repeatedly failed to follow protocols designed to guard against production errors that put safety at risk. Some tasks were signed off as completed and checked when they were not. Other work was done without authorization. The result was multiple errors in manufacturing, some of which passed right through the system to airplanes in service. Boeing also failed to take corrective action in a timely way after issues were discovered, the FAA found. http //www seattletimes com/business/boeing-aerospace/falsified-papers-sloppy-work-led-faa-to-fine-boeing/ FAA dot gov 1985/08/12 JAL 123 (Japan Airlines Co., Ltd) Aircraft Accident Investigation Report (resource obtained from George Eastman’s thelastboeinginspector.com) http//lessonslearned faa gov/Japan123/JAL123_Acc_Report pdf FAA Corruption - General Commerce dot Senate dot gov 2020/12/18 Wicker Releases Committee’s FAA Investigation Report https //www commerce senate gov/2020/12/wicker-releases-committee-s-faa-investigation-report U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today released the Committee’s investigation report on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This investigation began in April of 2019, weeks after the second of two tragic crashes of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, when Committee staff began receiving information from whistleblowers disclosing numerous concerns related to aviation safety. 2020/12/18--https //www commerce senate gov/2020/12/wicker-releases-committee-s-faa-investigation-report Defrauding America dot com FAA Corruption http //www defraudingamerica com/faa_corruption html CBS News 2008/04/03 Whistleblower says he was threatened. By “CBS News” http //www cbsnews com/news/faa-whistleblower-says-he-was-threatened/ Excerpt: A House committee reported the findings of its investigation into the Federal Aviation Agency's safety oversight Thursday and heard testimony from airline safety inspectors and the Transportation Department's inspector general. The whistleblowers who exposed maintenance and inspection problems at Southwest Airlines told Congress their jobs were threatened and their reports of noncompliance were ignored for years by their superiors. FAA inspector Douglas Peters choked up Thursday at the hearing and needed a few sips of water to tell lawmakers about how a former manager came into his office, commented on pictures of Peters' family being most important, and then said his job could be jeopardized by his actions. Rep. James Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said FAA managers' actions displayed "malfeasance bordering on corruption," adding that if presented to a grand jury, the evidence would result in an indictment….Both FAA whistleblowers - Charalambe Boutris and Peters - said the agency views the airlines as its "customers" instead of companies to be regulated. They said the FAA's chief maintenance inspector at Southwest, Douglas T. Gawadzinski, knowingly allowed Southwest to keep planes flying that put passengers at risk, and that another inspector knew of the problem and did nothing….In testimony prepared for the hearing, Brantley details maintenance and safety issues at United, Continental Airlines Inc., Northwest Airlines Corp., Hawaiian Airlines Inc. and elsewhere where the carriers were given great leeway by the FAA to correct problems that inspectors on the ground said merited more serious attention. Financial penalties for infractions suggested by inspectors against United and other carriers also were ignored or significantly reduced by the time they were assessed, he added. http //www cbsnews com/news/faa-whistleblower-says-he-was-threatened/ Infowars Whistleblower exposes massive corruption within FAA https //www infowars com/whistleblower-exposes-massive-corruption-within-faa/ [infowars was sued, went out] Wiki Leaks USA FAA corruption http //www wikileaksusa org/m_faa_corruption html NAP dot edu chapter one https //www nap edu/read/13189/chapter/1 Reuters 2014/01/23 Boeing, General Dynamics reach $400 million A-12 settlement with U.S. Navy. By Andrea Shalal-Esa http //www reuters com/article/us-boeing-generaldynamics-settlement-idUSBREA0M22820140124 Excerpt: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Boeing Co BA.N and General Dynamics Corp GD.N on Thursday each agreed to give the U.S. Navy $200 million in aircraft and services to settle an epic, 23-year legal dispute over cancellation of the $4.8 billion A-12 stealth aircraft in 1991. The agreement resolves the last of series of legal cases spawned in 1991 when then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney canceled the A-12 Avenger II program after it ran into major schedule delays and cost overruns in the 1980s. At the time, the government demanded the companies pay back $1.3 billion they had already received for work on the next-generation, carrier-based tactical airplane. The Justice Department announced the agreement, which was authorized as part of the 2014 defense authorization bill, noting that the U.S. government would not pay any money in connection with the companies’ claims. The companies had sued the U.S. government in federal claims court to retain the money they had received, plus more than $1 billion in additional amounts, plus interest. They argued that the government had wrongfully terminated the contract. http //www reuters com/article/us-boeing-generaldynamics-settlement-idUSBREA0M22820140124 Time 2014/03/14 Here Are the 5 Companies Making a Killing Off Wars Around the World. By Vince Calio, Alexander Hess http //time com/24735/here-are-the-5-companies-making-a-killing-off-wars-around-the-world/ ATC CORRUPTION (Air Traffic Control) Social Hanger 2015/05/22 ATC hiring fraud. By Edward Jeszka http //www socialhangar net/threads/huerta-tender-your-resignation-atc-hiring-fraud-and-corruption.17868/ Fox Business 2015/05/20 Trouble in the Skies. By Adam Shapiro, Pamela K. Browne http //www foxbusiness com/features/2015/05/20/trouble-in-skies html Excerpt: Lawmakers are taking notice, in a statement to FOX Business Correspondent Adam Shapiro U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren (IL) said. “The latest report elevates the need to dig deeper to find out what the FAA is hiding. What is clear is that the FAA’s lack of transparency and disturbing agenda puts the safety of our skies at risk. I repeat: it’s time to compel the FAA to come before Congress to answer for their actions.” Also uncovered was an FAA effort to promote diversity that discarded 3000 qualified college graduates with degrees in air traffic control despite their following FAA procedure and obtaining FAA accredited degrees. http //www foxbusiness com/features/2015/05/20/trouble-in-skies html TSA CORRUPTION Denver Post (07/08/2016) Lawmakers grill TSA over corrupt insolent behavior http //www denverpost com/2016/07/08/lawmakers-grill-tsa-over-corrupt-insolent-behavior/ FCC/BOEING ISSUES See also: FCC Wireless Week 2016/12 CCA pushes FCC to deny Boeing plan for satellite service in 5g spectrum https //www wirelessweek com/news/2016/12/cca-pushes-fcc-deny-boeing-plan-satellite-service-5g-spectrum MILITARY TO CONTRACTOR Likely Corruption, Cronyism, Negligence Pentagon Revolving Door Database https://www.pogo.org/database/pentagon-revolving-door/ The practice of former government officials leaving to work for corporations they oversaw or regulated is commonly referred to as the “revolving door.” When it comes to the Department of Defense, the conflicts created by the revolving door can potentially lead to favoritism, ineffective weapons and programs, bad deals, and misguided foreign policy. The revolving door of Pentagon officials and senior military leaders seeking lucrative post-retirement jobs often leads to confusing what is in the best financial interests of defense contractors with what is in the best interest of our citizens or national security. This database tracks senior Pentagon officials and military officers who have gone to work for Pentagon contractors, lobbying firms, and consultants trying to win Department of Defense contracts. https://www.pogo.org/database/pentagon-revolving-door/ Example: https://www.pogo.org/database/pentagon-revolving-door/people/peter-w-chiarelli/ Peter W. Chiarelli General Peter W. Chiarelli retired as Vice Chief of Staff of the Army in March 2012. According to his company biography he led the Army's budget planning and execution and equipment modernization. He joined the board of Pentagon contractor Harris Corporation in August 2012. Chiarelli has received over $1.1 million in compensation since joining Harris's board https://www.pogo.org/database/pentagon-revolving-door/people/peter-w-chiarelli/ [Extracted 2020/02/15] Newsweek 2020/08/14 Private U.S. Contractors Part of 'Kill Chain' in African Anti-Terrorist Ops BY KIRA ZALAN AND EMMANUEL FREUDENTHAL https //www newsweek.com/private-us-contractors-part-kill-chain-african-anti-terrorist-ops-1524902 Incorporated in Delaware in 2017, Priority 1 has intimate links to the U.S. security establishment. Its former CEO, Andrew Palowitch, held two official postings at the Central Intelligence Agency and was director of the Space Protection Program, sponsored jointly by the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. He also held executive positions at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), one of the most profitable contractors in the U.S. defense industry, and Tenax Aerospace Holdings, an intelligence and defense contractor that boasts a former CIA Director and a former commander of U.S. Special Operations Command as board members. 2020/08/14--https //www.newsweek.com/private-us-contractors-part-kill-chain-african-anti-terrorist-ops- 1524902 [Note from PF: This could be a Somalian-biased article. Over the years, African and Middle Eastern countries have been known to exaggerate civilian deaths and American corruption to put a distracting haze over enemy activity and to take attention away from enemy violence against both civilians and Americans or their allies. Many times horrific violence at the hands of militants gets less coverage than alleged or actual wrongful violence in enemy territory by Americans. We have to watch such news carefully to identify who is saying what and why, and how a negative slant on the American position is being applied.] STATESIDE AIRPORTS International Airport Corruption inside the United States See also Port Authority Not every airport area corruption is covered - a few are listed as examples HISTORY O’HARE/CHICAGO AIRPORT https://www.cirrusimage.com/ord/ 2012/06--http://www.connectingthewindycity.com/2012/06/chicago-look-back-at-june-9-1942.html 2006/07/29--https://www.stlmag.com/The-Butch-OHare-Story/ Cirrus Image dot com ORD – A casual history of O'Hare Field, Chicago https://www.cirrusimage.com/ord/ Excerpt: This page is a half-hearted attempt to document some of my observations on the development of O'Hare Field and it environs. As kids playing in the backyard on certain days, we were subjected to regular blasts of insane jet noise as departing aircraft passed just a few thousand feet over our heads. Have you ever heard the noise from and early Boeing 707 close-up? Probably not. They created probably twice the noise a modern-day jet plane – not to mention the black clouds of soot those Pratt & Whitney JT3C turbojets produced. We lived barely 2-1/2 miles from the end of the runway, and the smell of jet fuel and soot pervaded our atmosphere when the wind was from the south. Of course, I remember more gentle days as well, before the big jets came along – lazy days where the C-119 "flying boxcars" of the Air National Guard would fly exercises in formation (I still love the roar of big radial engines), and Constellations and Electras filled the air. I grew up in Des Plaines, Illinois during the 1950s and 60s, and I am intimately acquainted with the evolution of Orchard Place / Douglas Field into the world's busiest airport, O'Hare Field – ORD. It was a simpler time. In the late 60s it was possible to drive into the airport interior by way of the access road at the southern terminus of Mt. Prospect Road – there was only one "guard shack" at the entrance to the bowels of O'Hare – and that was frequently unmanned. Whole carloads of us would caravan to the south side of the terminal, where we could howl with glee as we passed directly behind taxiing B-707s and DC-8s and 727s, letting the jet wash pour through the open windows of my 1965 Chevy Impala. In 1942, the War Production Board of the United States of America purchased a plot of undeveloped Cook County prairie land called Orchard Place. The 1,790 acres of flatland was well suited for a huge airplane factory the government needed for the production of military aircraft, specifically Douglas C-54s, during World War II. The facility was also the site of the Army Air Force’s 803 Special Depot that stored many rare or experimental planes, including captured enemy aircraft. These historic aircraft would later be transferred to the National Air Museum to eventually form the core of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum’s collection. During the war, the airport was known as Orchard Place/Douglas Field, hence the airport’s identification ORD which remains today. After the war in 1945, the production of aircraft ceased and the U.S. Government transferred 1.080 acres of airport land to the City of Chicago. The facility was chosen by the City as the site to meet future aviation demands, additional land was purchased, and the airport was renamed Orchard Field. In 1949, the airfield became Chicago O’Hare International Airport named in honor of Lieutenant Commander Edward "Butch" O’Hare, a young Navy flier who gave his life in defense of his country. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1942 and is credited with saving the aircraft carrier USS Lexington in the South Pacific by shooting down six of nine enemy bombers. O’Hare International opened to commercial air traffic in 1955 and was formally dedicated on March 23, 1963, by President John F. Kennedy https //www cirrusimage.com/ord/ [extracted from Internet 2020/02/19] Related Story: STL Mag The Butch O'Hare Story The namesake of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport never lived in Chicago—he was born and raised in St. Louis. Butch's father helped snag Al Capone, and Butch helped win World War II BY LARRY OFFNER JULY 29, 2006 https://www.stlmag.com/The-Butch-OHare-Story/ Excerpt: The most interesting word in this routine announcement, which occurs more than 3,000 times daily in the skies over Chicago, is "O'Hare." Edward H. "Butch" O'Hare never lived in Chicago. He was born and raised in St. Louis, and he became a shining hero in the country's darkest days of World War II. It was Butch's father, Edgar Joseph "EJ" O'Hare—also a St. Louis native—who lived in Chicago for a time. Did big business there. Came back and agreed, after a 1930 luncheon meeting at the Missouri Athletic Club in downtown St. Louis, to turn over to the Internal Revenue Service certain financial records of Al Capone's. The O'Hares did nothing halfheartedly. Born in 1893, EJ O'Hare was an Irishman whose name meant, in Gaelic, "sharp, bitter, angry." He was just the opposite, outgoing and exuberant. At 19, he married Selma Anna Lauth, and they started their family in an apartment above her father's Soulard grocery store. https://www.stlmag.com/The-Butch-OHare-Story/ [extracted from Internet 2021/02/19] Connecting the WIndy City Chicago: A Look Back at June 9, 1942 2012/06--http //www connectingthewindycity com/2012/06/chicago-look-back-at-june-9-1942.html • Over 15,000 workers eventually worked at the site during the war, primarily responsible for production of the C-54 Skymaster. • Despite objections from citizens who wanted to preserve the rural nature of the area, the land was rezoned for industrial use on June 18, 1942 and the area was renamed Orchard Place. On this date in 1942 The Chicago Tribune announced that preparations for a new Douglas Aircraft plant would begin within days. At a cost of 20 million dollars the factory would be constructed on a 1,347 acre tract in northwest Cook county near Bensenville. Over 15,000 workers eventually worked at the site during the war, primarily responsible for production of the C-54 Skymaster. ..Four runways were constructed, each of them consisting of 15 inches of stone topped with a ten-inch layer of concrete. Once again, because of the value of steel to the war effort, the runways, 5,500 feet long and 150 feet wide, were built with no reinforcing rods. The paved surface totalled 1,300,000 square feet. With test pilot Win Sargeant in the cockpit, the first C-54 rolled down the runway on July 30, 1943. Before the plant closed in October of 1945 the Chicago Aircraft Assembly Plant at Douglas Field produced 655 cargo planes for the war effort. 2012/06--http //www connectingthewindycity com/2012/06/chicago-look-back-at-june-9-1942.html Newark Liberty International Airport - see Airlines United Airlines and Port Authority corruption USA Today 2017/03/09 Corruption still pays in New Jersey. editorial opinion piece https //www usatoday.com/story/opinion/editorials/2017/03/09/david-samson-corruption-port- authority/98969454/ Excerpt: David Samson abused his power as chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He pressured United Airlines into maintaining a special weekly flight near his South Carolina home, even though the route consistently lost money. Samson threatened to scuttle United’s hangar project at Newark Liberty International Airport if the airline didn’t deliver. Samson admitted all of this in federal court. His punishment was decided on Monday — a year of home confinement and a $100,000 fine. That’s it, along with four years probation for a 77-year-old man said to be in failing physical and mental health. The message to other corrupt public officials in New Jersey? Go ahead and commit your crimes and hope you get away with them. The risks aren’t that bad. https //www usatoday.com/story/opinion/editorials/2017/03/09/david-samson-corruption-port- authority/98969454/ John F. Kennedy Airport Corruption, Events, Issues Hashish Smuggling 2009 Archives dot FBI dot gov https //archives fbi.gov/archives/newyork/press-releases/2009/nyfo031109a htm NON-AMERICAN AIRPORT AND AVIATION CORRUPTION/ISSUES - MISC. Pakistan Nation 2017/04/03 FIA summons two PIA directors in corruption probe (Pakistan aviation corruption) http //nation com pk/newspaper-picks/03-Apr-2017/fia-summons-two-pia-directors-in-corruption-probe Iran Kayhan Live dot com 2017/01/22-23 Deception and Corruption in Iran’s Defense Industries. By Babak Taghvaee Excerpt: In the aftermath of the Iran-Iraq war and the establishment of assistance through Self-Sufficiency Jihad (SSJ) & Industrial Research in all three branches of armed forces, including Iranian Air Force (IRIAF), defense projects were being concocted and designed for deception and propaganda purposes rather than meeting the true needs of the Air Force. Under the best circumstances, the result of the project would be one or two prototypes that could be showcased during Military Day parades, Revolution Victory Day parades, Holy Defense Week parades, and other occasions, and then put away in storage. Credit for a few successful projects should go to imported knowledge and technology from foreign countries such as South Africa (Denel Aircraft helped construction of Owj Industry Complex belonging to IRIAF), Pakistan (Pakistan Aeronautical Complex helped in IAMI’s Simorgh project for conversion of single seat F-5As to twin seat F-5Bs), and China (Assisted IRIAF to adopt C-801 and C-802 anti-ship missiles with the armament system of F-4E fighters during project Qaem, and upgrade of F-5E fighters during project Silk-Road 2). 2017/01/22-23--https //kayhanlife com/business/deception-corruption-in-irans-defense-industries/ International Airports Corruption, Misc. Just a Sampling Most Dangerous Airports Reader’s Digest 2020/05/17 Most Dangerous Airports. By Jeff Bogle 2020/05/17--https://www.rd.com/list/most-dangerous-airports-in-the- world/#:~:text=16%20Most%20Dangerous%20Airports%20in%20the%20World%201,MCAS%20Futenma,%20Oki nawa%20Japan.%20...%20More%20items... Lukla Airport, Nepal; Toncontin Airport, Honduras; Princess Juliana International Airport, St. Maarten; Paro Airport, Bhutan; Narsarsuaq Airport, Greenland Most Corrupt Airports, Stealing 2016/02/22 Most Corrupt Airports 2016/02/22--https //www.thewisetraveller.com/Articles/view/?permalink=worlds-most-corrupt-airports 2017/08/01--Fiumicino Airport, Rome, Italy https //www euronews com/2017/08/01/watch-baggage-handlers-in-italy-steal-smartphones-and-cash-from- luggage Baggage handlers there have been caught on camera stealing smartphone, tablets and money from lost luggage, according to authorities. They were alerted after ‘numerous passengers’ found valuables missing when they collected their suitcases. That prompted surveillance cameras to be installed and they captured valuables being taken from luggage declared lost. The two suspects were working for a private luggage handling company that was operating during the summer 2017/08/01--https //www euronews com/2017/08/01/watch-baggage-handlers-in-italy-steal-smartphones-and- cash-from-luggage Romanian Airport Trip Advisor https //www tripadvisor com/ShowTopic-g294458-i3832-k7121884-Corruption_at_a_Romanian_airport- Bucharest html Suvarnabhumi Airport Wikipedia https //en wikipedia org/wiki/Corruption_in_the_Suvarnabhumi_Airport_project Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City Trip Advisor https //www tripadvisor com/ShowTopic-g293925-i8433-k10296479- How_bad_is_corruption_and_bribe_in_vietnam_int_l_airport-Ho_Chi_Minh_City html Mbalula Ortambo Airport Ewn dot co dot za 2017--http //ewn co za/2017/07/22/mbalula-committed-to-fighting-corruption-at-or-tambo-airport Bangladesh Independent http //www independent co uk/news/world/death-at-the-airport-exposes-web-of-corruption-in-bangladesh- 1308111 html 2016/05/02 Berlin Brandenburg airport corruption 'whistleblower poisoned 2016/05/02--https //www bbc com/news/world-europe-36185194 STOPPING AIRPORT CORRUPTION How to Build a Large Airport Without Corruption Transparency dot org https //www transparency org/news/pressrelease/how_to_build_a_mega_airport_without_corruption MAFIA AND AVIATION-RELATED ACTIVITY The Aviationist 2013/06/13 Italian Mafia tested killer drones decades before the U.S. used them in Afghanistan. By David Cenciotti https //theaviationist com/2013/06/13/mafia-drones/ Excerpt: Cosa Nostra tested remotely controlled aircraft loaded with bombs to attack and kill rivals from the sky in the early 1990s, well before the U.S. Air Force and CIA used them in Afghanistan, Pakistan or Iraq. This is what former mobster turned into informer Gaspare Spatuzza revealed an Italian court on Jun. 11, 2013. According to the ex “mafioso”, he was given the task by one of the Graviano brothers, two Palermo bosses in the 1990s, to buy and flight test rc airplanes carrying explosives. “Graviano told me to buy a remotely controlled plane. He explained that others had already bought them and we had to test the way to turn them into flying bombs by loading them with explosives,” Spatuzza said. 2013/06/13--https //theaviationist com/2013/06/13/mafia-drones/ Mafia in general - although aviation not specifically mentioned, this article gives a good run-down of Italian-based mafias and world-wide connections The Guardian 2019/10/30 Italy mafia networks are more complex and powerful, says minister: Interior minister Luciana Lamorgese says gangs have infiltrated economic systems. By Angela Giuffrida https //www theguardian com/world/2019/oct/30/italy-mafia-networks-are-more-complex-and-powerful-says- minister Italian mafia networks have become less high profile in recent years as they spread their activities into new sectors, but they are just as dangerous, the interior minister, Luciana Lamorgese, has said. Citing new data, Lamorgese said that organised crime groups “have made extensive transformations” while adopting “increasingly complex” models of criminal activity. “Criminal organisations are ever more sophisticated as they manage to infiltrate important economic sectors in order to clean up illicitly accumulated money,” said Lamorgese at a hearing with the Italian parliament’s anti-mafia commission. “The mafia continues to weigh heavily on our institutions and economic system.” 2019/10/30--https //www theguardian com/world/2019/oct/30/italy-mafia-networks-are-more-complex-and- powerful-says-minister Updates: 2021/10/16 editing and some organization across entire Aviation section, including removing excess bold font that showed up after a software upgrade; 2021/02/14 editing various; 2021/02/04 this page is being edited and the links de=activated; see Aviation crashes for more info; Earlier Updates from rivergold dot net: 08/15/2017 Raytheon subsection started; Southwest Airlines corruption/lawsuits material added; Airline Corruption page started - shifted material there from this page; 08/07/2017: unions transferred to a separate page for general union coverage including aviation; 08/06/2017 union corruption subsection incl. both aviation and general union corruption; 07/26/2017 FAA corruption/CBS; 7/23/2017 pratt-whitney corruption-reuters; 07/18/2017: Sandia, Los Alamos Labs; 07/17/2017: Sandia Labs, Grumman, Lockheed; 07/16/2017: Amer/US Airways merger; 07/14-15/2017 shifting from Boeing section mostly non-Boeing aviation material to this newly created Aviation World section - ran out of room

Aviation-1 Links List MERGER: 1997 Boeing-McDonnell Douglas AIRBUS BOMBARDIER (Canada) FAA CORRUPTION Federal Aviation Administration TSA CORRUPTION Transportation Security Administration (Department of Homeland Security) ATC CORRUPTION Air Traffic Control FCC-BOEING ISSUES MILITARY TO CONTRACTOR Possible Corruption, Cronyism, Negligence • STATESIDE AIRPORTS International Airport corruption (a few examples) o Newark Liberty International Airport o Historical focus - O’Hare Airport Chicago • One personal account: history from prairie field to major airport • Background of O’Hare name • See Historical Focus: 1979 Flight 191 O’Hare Airport o John F. Kennedy Airport Corruption, Events, Issues • NON-AMERICAN Airport/Aviation Corruption(a few examples) • MAFIA- Aviation