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The Controversy
The 9/11 Commission was no stranger to controversy; in fact, the very creation of a commission was the center of an extraordinary David and Goliath story. Families of the victims faced down the White House... and won. Even after the Commission began their hearings, it seemed that every rock turned over revealed shortcomings in our government's systems of security, safety, and intelligence. Suddenly, our government agencies were on the defensive, and that's when things get really interesting... even shocking.
Steve Elson & Bogdan Dzakovic - "Taking on the FAA"
A warning: This interview is not for the faint of heart... or those already nervous about air travel. Well before 9/11, Steve Elson and Bogdan Dzakovic were members of the Department of Transportation's Red Unit, a special task force designed to find and fix flaws in the FAA's air travel security.
What they found was staggering: checkpoint failure rates above the 90th percentile, a mountain of bureaucratic red tape preventing and improvement in the situation, and they both claim to have met with resistance, even corruption, at the highest levels of their organization.
According to Steve and Bogdan, 9/11 was completely preventable. They claim that if the simplest, least expensive measures they recommended (including strengthening cockpit doors and better training for pilots), that 9/11 would never have happened. They also assert that the FAA regulators that fought these recommendations are "traitors", and that if you're planning on flying in the near future, you should "take a train" instead.
Read on for the fascinating story of these two former FAA Red Team agents.
Click to download complete interview (PDF)
