Mary Rose Diefenderfer is a former airline pilot and FAA Safety Inspector, still haunted and hounded by the FAA, her former employer.

Mary Rose made the mistake of taking a leadership position as the Principal Operations Inspector (POI) of Alaska Airlines in 1993. She wasn't a lone-wolf; she was a team leader. She quickly became known as a warm, and bubbly 'can-do' person. She led a team of safety inspectors. Their job was to ensure airline safety; exactly what they tried to do. It quickly became apparent that her team had an unpleasant; but rewarding job to do. Personality wouldn't matter.

Over time, the blood-money politics of airline deregulation were to shoot her down in flames. Her mistake was believing in the traditional American way. Like most of us, she didn't see the ever-so-gradual changes happening in the shadows; they were deliberately subtle, and very effective.

Contrary to the propaganda, airline deregulation wasn't about enhancing competition or diminishing government control. The issue behind the scenes was the mechanics of directing huge profits into dedicated pockets - legally (or so it would seem).

Before reaching the point of being compelled to quit the agency, the Federal Aviation Administration managers in Seattle twice removed her from her leadership job of monitoring Alaska Airlines. Both times, she was transferred out of the job after initiating an investigation of Alaska Airlines for violating pilot training regulations or violating safety certification rules.

After her first punitive transfer, in 1993, she won back her job. The FAA was then part of the traditional Civil Service; with rules for the agency to follow. Then, the rules were changed, the FAA was removed from the Civil Service environment, becoming a free agent, subject to its own selective interpretation of Federal rules. They may as well be street rules; made up on the spot.

Upon her second removal as team leader, Mary Rose had no protections; Civil Service standards were gone. She got stuck with a desk job, only there was no desk, for months. In her final days with the FAA, she was humiliated by having to answer questions for the safety inspectors who were doing her former job.

Many of the FAA's 3,000 safety inspectors have received the same treatment. Mary Rose is one of the few who won't quit, even on the outside.

It didn't start with Mary Rose. Former FAA inspector and author Rodney Stitch, tells a similar but more dramatic story in his book "Unfriendly Skies," not to be confused by the same title allegedly written by 'Captain X,' an appropriate authorship of the other book.

In an interview with the Seattle P-I, Mary Rose said, "I have nightmares of a smoking hole in the ground, containing charred bodies, in the twisted metal that used to be an airplane."

Not even a year after she was pressured to quit the FAA, her worst nightmare came true, only the wreckage ended up in the ocean. The obvious horror of that accident was that the people on board knew they were going to die for an eternity before it finally happened. The accident was preventable for many reasons. It simply didn't have to happen. Mary Rose and her team lost the battle.

The accident brought tears to Mary Rose's eyes. Her only consolation was that it didn't happen on her watch; it wasn't enough. She is still haunted by the eternal question, "Was there anything more that she or her team could have done?"

Her answer came in the form of repeated incidents after the fatal accident. The two most immediate incidents happened for the very same reason as the fatal crash. Nothing seemed to have been learned from an actual crash; the answer to her question is simply, "no." Hindsight and possibilities aside, there was nothing more that she or her team would have been ALLOWED to do. The political barrier was that solid.

The FAA facilitated the savings of corporations by not pushing the science of Crew Resource Management (CRM). While safety can be expensive, it's a long term investment with a terrific return. CRM is simply a high standard of professionalism. It calls for crew teamwork; if a mistake is to be made, the crew is to err on the side of safety. Yes, that can be an expense, but radically cheaper than the alternative. CRM is a scientific version of common sense.

Despite passionate appeals from the NTSB, the FAA couldn't be bothered with insisting on CRM at the cockpit level. Late in 1999, the FAA gave their final refusal in writing. Corporate culture had won the battle; dollars were saved - lives were not.

One captain's philosophy says, "I'll forgive any mistake; I can't forgive a bad attitude." The cash-hungry attitude behind Alaska 261 begs eternal condemnation. The crash was the direct result of the corporate culture Mary Rose and her team tried to dissolve; their efforts didn't work.

In her personal battle with the FAA, she has a lawsuit pending against the FAA, with little hope of breaking the FAA's bureaucratic code of silence. She is an example of what happens when people lose their designation as "team-players." She is not alone; just defiant. The 'whistle-blower' laws are no more than paper.

It took four years for Mary rose to come to grips with the reality of FAA politics; between 1993 and 1997.

She and her three-member team had a rough and dangerous road to travel. They had to breach the macho "bush pilot attitude," still symbolized by leather flying jackets in place of the professional uniform jacket. It didn't work. Worse, nobody seemed to care.

In the aftermath of eighty-eight fatalities, evasion of detection was increased and a code of silence was effected.

In her bewilderment, Mary Rose is challenged by a history which understandably evokes suspicions of institutionalized insanity. Following her final removal as POI, she later fell under a supervisor which court records show as having served 60 days of a 365 day sentence for non-sexual assault on his two teenage daughters, 11 and 13 years old.

The court papers (King County Superior Court No. 98-1-01327-0 KNT) describe nothing less than an insane nightmare. The primary victim was the 11-year-old. The prosecutor cited a "...serious and protracted history of physically and psychologically abusing both his daughters and his now ex-wife." The bail request was for $50,000. The court papers cited photographic evidence supporting the charges. In the prosecutor's words in the bail request, "The .... detective believes he presents a high risk for going to California and threatening, injuring or even killing [his daughters and/or ex-wife]."

Following his release from jail, the supervisor was promoted by the FAA a few months later. Despite the criminal history, the FAA not only promoted him, but continued his government security clearance. Such has been shown to be typical of the American Democratic administration, in a separate scandal.

The inspector who ultimately replaced Mary Rose as POI at Alaska Airlines was the subordinate of that supervisor; he posted the bail for his boss in the amount of $10,000. (He replaced Mary Rose approximately 4 months prior to the supervisor's arrest.) Thus, Mary Rose was left to ponder the definition of a "team player." She has more than her share of company in her bewilderment.

The media continues to document the FAA facilitation of profitable safety breaches. The Alaska Airlines story is well known at the highest levels of Washington D.C.. Amazingly, nobody seems to care; not even in an election year.

Mary Rose and her safety team had to battle the modern corporate version of the Alaskan Territory frontier mentality. "Do whatever it takes; let us worry about the consequences."

The corporate culture was oriented around the ignoring and bending of the rules. Not understanding the modern power-politics of money, she was amazed when her supervisors consistently backed the airline over her team of inspectors.

Perhaps the most dramatic story is the account of her first confrontation with Alaska's management and her FAA supervisors in 1993 when an Alaska Airlines pilot became lost in Russian airspace. The particular pilot was Alaska's then - Vice President of Operations; also a former FAA official - and friend of her supervisor.

The Russian route required specially trained pilots. Mary Rose discovered that he and four other pilots were not properly trained and that the records had been falsified by the individual pilots. Eventually, five pilots confessed to altering the records, temporarily costing them their captain's certification. Despite the grievousness of the offense (a Federal felony, as well), Alaska didn't fire them. Through a convenient technicality, they were still allowed to fly.

Conversely, Mary Rose was punished. She was pulled out of her FAA position and transferred to another job. Two months after filing a complaint under the last days of the Civil Service rules, she was reinstated.

In the next three years Mary Rose and her team discovered still more major issues. Mary Rose still believed in the FAA system, fighting to get the issues corrected. The resistance came from behind. Safety wasn't to be considered; the political relationship was sacred. It's a common story throughout the FAA system. Mary Rose hadn't seen the political writing on the wall.

Following the FAA withdrawal from the Civil Service System, the rules became highly selective. Rhetoric and semantics were employed to evade the obvious issues. Mary Rose was pulled down in June of 1997. Her crime was not being a "team-player." Taking a stand for safety and regulatory compliance earned her the description of being abrasive and hostile.

Despite her atempts to transfer to another region to escape the treatment, she'd effectively been black-listed. She had superior qualifications, yet, the transfer requests were refused without explanation.

While her pay was unaffected, her treatment at the hands of the FAA became unbearable. Ultimately, she resigned, accepting a position with ProAir, a small airline with growing pains, but a determination to solve the problems and to grow.



Today, despite a good safety record, the FAA is treating ProAir almost as a criminal element. Amazingly, the FAA is supposed to be giving as much support as possible to 'new-entrant' carriers. The Seattle FAA office is the force majeur, as the corporate offices are located in Seattle.

Mary Rose is the Vice President of Safety and Regulatory Compliance at ProAir. The unspoken fear is that she is the magnet for unparalleled harassment by the FAA. Ironically, a radically magnified version of the FAA's reason for pulling her away from Alaska Airlines. Selectively, the political relationship isn't entirely sacred.

The amazing difference is that ProAir isn't violating any regulations, beyond their 'share' of inadvertant events; as does any carrier. The political cross-hairs have been trained. The FAA doesn't take political prisoners, nor do they allow escapees. Again, Mary Rose isn't unique, other former FAA people have gotten the same treatment. The dogs of corruption follow them to the edge of the industry. No survivors are allowed.

Conversely, the news regularly reports carriers with a long-standing record of problems having repeated incidents and accidents. Mysteriously, they do not suffer the FAA enforcement nightmare.

In the FAA National Headquarters, one carrier's name is alomst forbidden to be used. The carrier is cryptically known as, "the carrier with the worst safety record." Despite such references, that record is mysteriously allowed to continue. It's incidents and accidents are almost unknown to those who were not involved. The NTSB and FAA data bases only carry its minor incidents, such as turbulence or a catering truck striking an aircraft.

The most amazing part of the Mary Rose Diefenderfer story is that it's well known, even in Washington D.C. - her story, among others, has been reported, to all the major agencies and investigative bodies. These stories have been reported to the White House. Her issues (and others) with the FAA are being investigated by the FBI - mysteriously, it just doesn't seem to matter.

"Never give up!"

With the new administration and the supposed 'word' of the new President of the United States of America, Mary Rose continued her efforts in a tactful, but clearly stated letter:


January 26, 2001


President & Mrs. George W. Bush
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, D.C. 20502


Dear President and Mrs. Bush:

First, let me congratulate you on your election to our nation's highest office. It was truly a tense month for me, as well as for you, I'm quite sure. I am proud that we finally have ethical and moral leadership in our country, and I know the country will benefit from your example. I thank God every day that you prevailed.

I was very impressed by the reported news of your first staff meeting and your message to your staff. In that meeting, you informed them that you demanded the highest ethical conduct, which is expected of our public representatives and employees. You also said that you would not tolerate even the appearance of impropriety. Those words struck a nerve with me, and hence, prompted me to write this letter to you.

My purpose for this letter is twofold; first, to make you aware of ongoing unethical conduct and miscarriage of justice in one of your executive branches, to ask that you hold the responsible public officials accountable for their actions. The conduct of these high-ranking government officials has placed public safety at risk, and has been party to the death of 88 souls in the (name withheld) Airlines crash. This unethical conduct is certain to again contribute to injury or death to the public in the near future.

Second, I am asking for your help in bringing the matters I describe to a timely resolution without further financial impact for the taxpayer and myself, and without delays that could enable these officials to contribute to more deaths.

Background:
I, like many others, have been victimized by the Clinton administration policies and practices. I was a government employee during Clinton's administration, working as an Aviation Safety Inspector for the FAA Flight Standards in Seattle. If you have kept up with aviation news over the past year, you will recognize me. I am the inspector who was severely ostracized, removed from my position of responsibility, charged with false disciplinary actions, and finally was forced to resign my job under duress by a supervisor with a criminal record. And what was my "crime"? It was simply to uphold my highest responsibility to the flying public. A team of inspectors, for which I was the team leader, attempted to keep the public from suffering the loss of life that has occurred so many times previously in airline accidents, and to try to report those officials in FAA management who were guilty of interfering (to the point of hindering) safety corrections at my assigned airline, (name withheld) Airlines.

Until November 1999, I was a 12-year veteran of the FAA. I have won numerous awards for my achievements and contributions to the government, including the Distinguished Service Award. I have held several positions of responsibility including supervisory inspector overseeing a major airline, (name withheld) Airlines.

During the years for which I had oversight of the airline, my team and I saw many increasing signs of deficiencies and degradation of safety at (name withheld) Airlines. I was the supervisor/team leader, or Principal Operations Inspector, with about 5 inspectors reporting their surveillance findings and recommendations to me for correction. It was my job to verify the validity of the findings, address corrective actions with the airline, and keep our FAA management informed.

My team and I were very good at our work, and became increasingly concerned about the airline's mounting safety deficiencies and disregard for safety regulations and public law, as the years went on. We saw an increasing trend of serious matters such as falsification of records, disregard for flight altitude restrictions, and flying aircraft with know serious mechanical deficiencies. We informed our FAA management that (name withheld) Airlines had serious signs of safety deficiencies, and I warned them (name withheld) Airlines would soon have an accident if the trend continued without immediate correction by the FAA.

Our FAA management also became concerned. They became concerned not about the degradation of safety that could result in deaths due to an accident, but because the inspectors were "making it hard on (name withheld) Airlines". Of course, (name withheld) Airline officials intuitively sensed this, and began making false testimony to our FAA Flight Standards management and FAA Security to have the investigating Safety Inspectors removed. That approach worked well for (name withheld) Airlines management. We were told by our FAA superiors that (name withheld) Airlines was our "customer" and we were to give (name withheld) Airlines everything they wanted, if not, they would find someone to replace us who would (they eventually did replace most of us). Further, we were not to file violations on the airline, for filing violations would force the airline to fix their safety problems and impact profits. Some of the violations that we did manage to process got "lost" upon management review.

In 1996, under the Clinton administration, FAA employees had their whistleblower protections removed under the FAA Reauthorization Act. This meant that FAA employees no longer had an independent avenue, the Merit Protection Board (MSPB), to address issues of retaliation for whistle-blowing (safety reports, in my case). That single act was the beginning of a chain of events that lead up to not only retaliation against me and several of my team members, but to the (name withheld) Airlines crash in January 2000.

The stories of the horrid deaths of the passengers on (name withheld) Airlines flight 261, the grieving family members, (name withheld) Airlines falsification cases, and FAA management interference and protectionism for (name withheld) Airlines is well documented in the NTSB files. I could not begin to adequately portray the extent that FAA management went to in an effort to silence concerned Safety Inspectors, and to retaliate against those who attempted to "tell the story" before deaths occurred. The sad fact is this behavior by FAA management is ongoing today both at (name withheld) Airlines and other airlines.

I also could not adequately portray to you in a letter the losses I personally endured, and still endure, because I was a very concerned government employee who knew that (name withheld) Airlines would have a fatal crash if the negative safety trend were not stopped. I was removed from my position and subsequently found myself constantly under "investigation" by FAA Security and Flight Standards management, I endured disciplinary actions and attempted disciplinary actions, and my basic civil rights were violated as well as those of anyone who attempted to speak to me. I attempted to remove myself from that environment by applying for other agency positions in other locations, but the local FAA management stopped every attempt in retaliation, although I was always the most qualified person. One can only conclude that they wanted to continue to retaliate until, like a prisoner of war, I broke.

Finally, the FAA assigned me to a supervisor who had been incarcerated for assault on his pre-teenage girls. Evidence in his case files also indicates improper sexual contact with his daughters and domestic violence. The police report states that there was a concern that this supervisor would travel to another state to hurt or even kill his ex-wife and children. The same officials who removed me from oversight of (name withheld) Airlines for finding safety concerns defended this supervisor to the US Attorney! Of, course, this all occurred under the Clinton administration. Lack of government accountability became acceptable. Lack of whistleblower protections through the Merit Protection process added to the degradation of safety and retaliation of inspectors.

Under this new supervisor, my working conditions (as a result of my safety reporting) became intolerable. His demeanor was hostile and confrontational, and his actions seemed to be supported by his supervisor. To protect my career and preserve my health, I took leave without pay for six months to remove myself from him, during which time I requested reassignment, but the FAA refused. However, the supervisor continued his hostile and retaliatory behavior by calling my home to accuse and reprimand. In one such call, I was admonished for allegedly making a safety report to FAA Headquarters, which was actually made by another inspector. The safety report in question was at the request of Mr. Tom McSweeny, AVR-1. The report described FAA management and airline safety issues similar to Value Jet, and concluded that a similar outcome could be expected. This report was written 10 months before the crash of (name withheld) Airlines flight 261, and seemed to predict the crash.

Rather than address the issues identified in this very disturbing safety report to Mr. McSweeny, the FAA took another opportunity to retaliate and send a message to other inspectors that said, "safety reporting will not be tolerated by the FAA". One high-ranking FAA official subsequently perjured herself in her statement to the US Attorney about the situation. The OIG is currently investigating this matter.

I resigned in November 1999 under duress after I was notified of yet another disciplinary action by the hostile supervisor, although I had been on Leave Without Pay status for 6 months, and was under my physicians treatment plan for effects of the constant stress placed upon me by the FAA. Meanwhile, the FAA continued to silence Safety Inspectors, disregard warnings of impending disaster, and ignore safety violations. Two months later 88 souls were taken in a horrible death on (name withheld) Airlines flight 261.

Who was aware:
After many attempts to bring awareness to the (name withheld) Airlines safety problems through the FAA chain of command (Phil Hoy, Marlene Livack, Brad Pearson, Nicholas Lacey), I personally corresponded with Ms. Jane Garvey, Mr. Rodney Slater, and President Clinton. I informed them about the safety problems my team and I found, the potential for an air carrier disaster, and the injustices brought upon the inspectors, especially myself, who tried to make flying safer for the public.

I was ignored and/or punished by all.

Currently:
Since that time, (name withheld) Airlines has been investigated for falsification by the FBI, and has killed 88 souls on flight 261. The public has suffered a degradation of safety at (name withheld) Airlines and other airlines under the leadership of Ms. Jane Garvey and Mr. Nicholas Lacey. The public has been robbed, and human suffering is bound to increase.

Mr. Robert Hill of the Seattle FSDO took the management oversight role of (name withheld) Airlines, and continues in that role today. He is currently under investigation by the NTSB, FBI, and OIG for attempting to make an agreement with (name withheld) Airlines to conduct a "white glove safety inspection" after the crash of 261, but not have any findings documented. This is illegal, probably criminal, and certainly unethical. It is my understanding that the NTSB has a copy of the document Mr. Hill created for this purpose.

Since that time, most of the previously assigned inspectors with historical knowledge of (name withheld) Airlines have been reassigned away from oversight of the airline, and replaced with inexperienced inspectors. The few experienced inspectors who are left have been silenced.

Between April 2000 and January 2001, the FAA's national CSET team spent hundred of hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars "assisting" (name withheld) Airlines to come into regulatory compliance and conform to safety practices. Inspectors conducting audits on (name withheld) Airlines maintenance in January 2001 report that very little has changed and (name withheld) Airlines maintenance practices continue to be a risk to public safety. Yet the FAA does nothing to stop the risk.

Since the accident, many of the FAA perpetrators have received promotions, or have been protected by the FAA, while I was forced out of my government employment. I may never gain back what I have lost in income, job security, and benefits. Mr. Phil Hoy, the supervisor who was instrumental in covering up safety problems and regulatory violations, and for removing me and other reporting inspectors, was downgraded because of his part in the lack of oversight of (name withheld) Airlines. However, he is still employed by the FAA in a high paying position, with no benefits lost.

Since that time, I have been in and out of work, in much lower paying positions of less responsibility. My career path has taken a turn for the worst, I have been hurt financially, physically, emotionally, and the stress has ended my marriage of 21 years. I have mounting legal bills, while the FAA spends hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal costs in my case simply because they can. I have been vindicated by the NTSB, as they now recognize the validity of my safety concerns, that I brought those concerns to FAA management's attention, that I followed the chain of command with my concerns via the FAA Orders, that I was punished for "making waves", and that lack of FAA oversight of (name withheld) Airlines was a contributor to the crash.

It is a travesty that the FAA continues to discredit myself and other inspectors who tried to save lives. Even after the NTSB hearings, the FAA calls us disgruntled employees and continues to discount our work.

The resolution:
Foremost, the FAA officials' involved in attempted cover-ups of safety problems before and after the crash of (name withheld) Airlines 261 must be held accountable for their actions. After the NTSB testimony, it is clear that my safety concerns were valid, and the FAA management was remiss in their oversight responsibilities. If warranted, they should be subjected to criminal prosecution. If swift and firm action is not taken, a message will be sent to all Flight Standards management that they should continue business as usual, and more deaths are likely to occur in spectacular airline crashes.

Internal FAA processes that work, which are timely and efficient, and which are independent of any management influence must be put in place to assure safety concerns are addressed and Safety Inspectors do not endure retaliation. Early detection of abuses is essential. Although the Safety Inspectors now have access to the Merit Protection Board once again (since the most recent FAA Reauthorization Act), this avenue is time consuming and costly for everyone. Meanwhile, airline safety shortfalls go un-addressed.

The FAA must have some accountability in their retaliatory actions against me, and provide me with equal justice. So far, FAA management is refusing to conduct meaningful negotiations with my attorney in an effort to correct the retaliation. Currently my matter is under investigation by the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), and that path will eventually grant me access the MSPB hearing forum. However, it will cost me further attorney's fees, loss of work, travel expenses, personal time, and impact in the quality of my life. Further, the taxpayer is paying the bill for the OSC investigation, the Merit Protection process, and all the FAA employee time involved in this matter.

I am respectfully requesting that you intervene and hold the FAA accountable for their action by halting any more waste of taxpayer time and money, any further damage to my career, finances, and my personal life, and work towards a fair settlement with my attorney. The OSC will have a complete file of testimony regarding the (name withheld) Airlines safety problems and subsequent abuses mentioned herein for your review. The NTSB files are available to you, as well.

In conclusion:
I implore your assistance in ending this public safety matter and terribly stressing personal situation. Death row inmates appear to have more rights than a government employee who is trying to save lives. Death row inmates receive pardons and are exonerated when new facts come to light that prove them innocent. The NTSB has gathered the evidence necessary to validate my previous safety concerns, and clearly show FAA management's lack of oversight of (name withheld) Airlines, as well as retaliation against FAA Safety Inspectors. I would like to be exonerated and made whole for being a valuable public servant who potentially could have saved those 88 souls if FAA management had been held accountable.

I appreciate your consideration and timely assistance in this urgent matter.



Sincerely,



Mary Rose Diefenderfer

To date there has been no answer.

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