CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Due in part to “national security” measures imposed by the Federal Court, assisted to a certain extent by the irrelevant, mainly political concerns of the Congressional Counsel made under the same pretense, the most serious charges were dropped against the Iran-Contra principals who actually went to trial. Others, who were convicted despite the withholding of information by the Executive Branch on the same, false grounds of national security, were pardoned by President George H.W. Bush, who was vice President under Reagan during the time the sordid affair took place. Even Oliver North’s convictions were ultimately overturned, as his prosecution and subsequent conviction were based in large part upon his testimony before a Congressional committee that had granted him immunity as a condition to get him to talk. As a result of this travesty of justice, which came to be known as the Iran-Contra or Contragate scandal, corrupt CIA operatives were allowed to continue peddling officially sanctioned illicit narcotics to the American masses that had no clue that it came from the very people associated with their own government. Other than Senator Kerry’s hearings, none of the Eastern-related disclosures were ever placed under a microscope as they should have been.

I’m of the opinion that Borman most likely initially perceived that allowing Eastern’s planes to be used for the money shipments was simply the duty of a “loyal American,” standing by his friend, President Reagan, and his ideals. Although I do not believe there is any evidence that shows Borman was part of the Eastern drug-smuggling operation, as president of the airline, he certainly knew it was taking place. Hell, Loeb told him.

After the Flight 980 crash and the Valdes and Kelly expeditions, Borman’s probable perception was that he was trapped and possibly risked prison if Flight 980 was proven to be brought down by sabotage and the trail was tracked back to the money laundering. As a result, everything related to this tragedy was never properly investigated, odds-on as a result of a direct presidential request or dictate to Burnett. Judith Kelly’s TV appearance was eventually followed by an accident investigation that really wasn’t one and a plot that was constructed to destroy all the evidence, in this case meaning Eastern Airlines. It would look even better for Borman if the blame could be placed on a union’s shoulders for the airline’s demise. Borman subsequently utilized many public media outlets to try to do exactly that: blame the IAM’s Bryan for the airline’s downfall. He went so far as to author an alleged autobiography with the assistance of a ghost writer to accomplish that goal. Recall that Copeland and I made our offer to Borman at approximately 4 p.m. on the afternoon of February 23rd. In his book, Borman related that most difficult time in his life was between the time the Eastern Board of Directors recessed their meeting that same afternoon and driving from his home in Coral Gables back to the reconvened Eastern Board meeting. I can picture the false sniffles, and I do mean false, because this was the exact date and time when Copeland and I met with him. Yet there is absolutely no mention of the almost-2-billion-dol-lar offer we placed on the table, including Bryan’s capitulation. I presume that is called selective amnesia? Rather, Eastern’s demise is a story built upon man’s timeless and never ceasing inhumanity and lust for ego, money, and power—until the very real fear of being caught sets in. Throw in some 1980’s anti-union sentiment for good measure and to some, maybe Borman and his political henchmen might even appear to be the ones wearing the white hats.

Although he subsequently seemingly vanished into obscurity for a time, Borman walked away a wealthy man, with his million-dollar golden parachute in addition to any other retirement earned at Eastern. The former was no doubt a reward from Texas Air for the bargain basement price they paid for all the valuable Eastern assets. When these were sold off or transferred, it enabled Continental not only to survive but prosper, ultimately merging with United Air Lines. This was accomplished at the Eastern workers’ expense, with untold numbers of lives forever shattered.

Apparently still unable to totally extricate himself from the airline business, Borman remained a member of the Texas Air Board of Directors for some time. Perhaps still seeking public limelight and acceptance, he sometimes makes television or video appearances, in which he puffs his credentials as a former astronaut or airline CEO, in the latter case continually misstating the true reasons for Eastern’s demise. The most recent attempt that I witnessed was in 2013 when he appeared in a video contained on the Merrill Lynch website entitled “An American Icon—Still Soaring at 84.” In this video he appears with his wife and two men who presumably are his Merrill Lynch financial advisors. In it, he gives his purported reason why the airline was handed to Texas Air. “You get to the point where you have to do something for the shareholders,” Borman declared. Do something for the shareholders? He again conveniently fails to mention that all stockholders’ equity was ultimately wiped out by the Texas Air transaction as a result of all the labor unrest Lorenzo brought with him. He also apparently “forgot” that Solomon Brothers refused to render a fairness opinion on the sale stock price, or that Merrill Lynch replaced them as the investment banker for the deal, which no doubt made the latter quite a few bucks. The end result is that the misrepresentations continue in a feeble attempt to absolve Borman and government cronies of culpability. Just like when he also seemingly “forgot” to mention the meeting with Copeland and me. Makes me wonder if he still wears his bulletproof vest. Not working full time for the government meant Borman didn’t have the protections afforded others or the almost-guaranteed pardons that followed for many. So instead, the power of his government cohorts was brought into play, most clearly demonstrated by the lack of any appropriate response from the NTSB to the Flight 980 crash.

This brings me back to the NTSB and Mr. Burnett. Soon after resigning from Eastern, I flew with a pilot at my new airline, and the cockpit discussion got around to the NTSB. Without going into detail, I mentioned the Flight 980 crash and the lack of a timely investigation while Burnett was chairman. I was surprised when he stated that his spouse was employed at the law firm where Burnett currently worked.

“Would your wife ask Burnett to speak with me about NTSB matters during his tenure as chairman?” I asked, also requesting he not mention Flight 980. His wife subsequently inquired, and Burnett readily agreed. I called, and we chitchatted cordially until I raised issues surrounding the Eastern Flight 980 crash, and the lack of a timely and proper investigation. At that point, his entire tenor changed, and he brusquely informed me that he was “awaiting a federal judicial appointment from President George H. W. Bush,” had nothing further to say, and hung up! He was never appointed by Bush, but his reaction said it all.

I also subsequently spoke with a former NTSB investigator in an informal setting and specifically inquired about the Flight 980 crash and Burnett’s role. Rolling his eyes, he stated, “Burnett would do whatever he was told to do by his boss, the president, no questions asked.” Burnett passed away in 2010 and a statement by the Republican Party of Arkansas contained in his obituary in Newsday stated, “Jim was a national leader on transportation safety issues.” If you believe that, then I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.

You might wonder about the FAA. They too wouldn’t push for an investigation. If you were responsible for allowing a major airline to use an untested VOR, and permitting the use of inferior on-board equipment when there was much better available, would you want to be subjected to the intense scrutiny of an accident investigation?

The rubber stamping of the Texas Air purchase of Eastern by a number of federal agencies quickly followed the buyout. The Reagan Department of Justice had absolutely “no problem” with the antitrust implications of the Eastern sale, even though Eastern and Continental, now both owned by Texas Air, at the time would control approximately twenty percent of all the available airline seats within the United States domestic air transportation system. Perhaps those in charge at DOJ already had the word that Lorenzo would dismantle and then tank Eastern?

Likewise, the U.S. Department of Transportation under Elizabeth Dole also gave its official stamp of approval to the acquisition, with its only concern being the lucrative northeast Shuttle market, this prior to the time when Texas Air sold the Eastern Shuttle to Donald Trump. Texas Air was ultimately forced to relinquish takeoff and landing slots on those routes to another airline, but one of its own choosing. Texas Air chose the financially weakest carrier, Pan American World Airways, which subsequently folded. Interestingly, in 1985, Dole’s Department of Transportation also withheld the Labor Protective Provisions granted in prior airline mergers, so the precedent had already been set for the Eastern employees to get nothing, which is exactly what they received.

The Reagan-appointed Department of Labor also offered no resistance to the acquisition. This federal agency claimed that the Eastern pilot contract contained strong and clear Labor Protective Provisions, which “guaranteed” job protection for the Eastern pilots. But this never materialized, as Texas Air refused to abide by or even recognize them. The DOL insisted that all Eastern workers were similarly protected under the terms of the United States Airline Deregulation Act. These supposed “guaranteed job protections,” however, also never materialized or resulted in one Eastern pilot or other worker either getting their salary or gaining employment at any other carrier with their seniority intact, as also falsely promised by the Airline Deregulation Act. Obviously, the skids were well greased for the smooth transfer of Eastern and its valuable assets to Texas Air, without Texas Air having to worry about any of the Eastern workers’ rights.

After gaining all the needed approvals and removing two pesky pilots, Borman eventually did depart Eastern for greener pastures, mostly removed from the public limelight, as was no doubt strongly suggested to him, believing that he was free from the stigma associated with any part of the entire stinking Flight 980 affair, his name sullied only by his failure as a businessman. But even on that count, he continually attempted to shift all the blame onto Bryan’s shoulders.

There were also two subsequent, related and crucial items that took place. While “The Gipper” chucked a final pass to see the Eastern sale received all the necessary government approvals, his successor and former head of the CIA, George H.W. Bush, perpetuated the deceptive actions concerning Eastern Airlines. He had no choice but to do so, because Ramon Rodriguez’s statements in front of John Kerry’s Senate Sub-Committee also implicated the CIA, meaning Bush, its former head, in the money laundering and arms deal for the Contras. Just prior to the March 4, 1989, IAM strike deadline, then-President Bush received a strongly worded recommendation from Walter Wallace, at the time still the National Mediation Board Chairman, requesting that Bush immediately convene a special Presidential Emergency Board to defuse the Eastern laBormanagement situation and prevent a devastating strike. But in an unprecedented move, one-termer Bush refused to do so. Once the strike began, it took but five days for Eastern to be placed into Chapter Eleven bankruptcy proceedings. Contrast Bush’s action to those of President Bill Clinton, when in February of 1997 he intervened to prevent a strike by the American Airlines pilots. He sent the pilots back to work and empanelled a three-member Board to successfully resolve the differences between the parties.

After more than eight months after the IAM strike began, the Eastern workers could still have obtained a reprieve, again, but for Bush. Both Houses of Congress passed resolutions forming a bi-partisan, four-member Blue Ribbon Commission to probe the ongoing Eastern’s labor troubles. Only eighteen minutes before it would automatically have become law, without a plausible explanation, Bush vetoed the bill, with no time for an override that night. The House of Representatives subsequently attempted an override, but fell short by a meager twenty-one votes. Just like the eight-percent cut in block hours could be falsely attributed to a “poor business decision,” the Bush veto was simply put down under the heading of “politics.”

I will never forget the night the aforementioned resolution was passed. I was living in a pilot commuter apartment, when I received a phone call from Skip Copeland, who at the time had been elected as the Eastern ALPA MEC Chairman.

“We got it!” he excitedly announced.

“Got what?” I innocently asked.

“The Eastern Blue Ribbon Commission was passed by both Houses with bi-partisan support. Bush can’t veto it,” Skip eagerly added.

At that time, Copeland didn’t know what I had uncovered. I didn’t want to rain on his parade, but I informed him, “Skip, he has to veto it.”

This veto meant that, just like the Flight 980 passengers, the Eastern workers would never get the benefit of an impartial investigation into what actually happened to their airline. No doubt this commission would have gone back, as I did, and scrutinized the origins of all the problems that began with the Boeing 727 crash on that bleak South American mountainside. The rest is history.

Paradoxically, the phony Bush refused to aid Eastern’s workers at the very same time that he openly supported and embraced the highly visible Polish Solidarity labor leader, Lech Walesa, and his ideals. In part because of Bush’s veto, to this very day many Eastern workers have no clue as to what occurred, other than their lives were forever shattered. While it’s true that every airliner crash alters a number of destinies, at least all other U.S. airliner air disasters were properly investigated. But for Eastern Flight 980, the same institutions made certain that important evidence remained buried on that remote South American mountainside, along with the hope of any justice for those left behind. But the conniving by those who had no regard for the safeguards built into our system resulted in an attack on the very system they purported to be “protecting.” Ponder what these actions portend for you, or me, and everyone else who might follow.