Petition and Declaration to the Grand Jury
Borough of Manhattan
New York, N.Y.
Date: December 1, 2004
I, Rodney F. Stich, declare:
I submit this petition, and declaration, to the grand jury empanelled in Manhattan, New York City, through
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. The purpose of the petition, and this declaration, is to report to this grand jury
serious misconduct that created and continued the conditions that enabled four groups of terrorists to hijack four
airliners on September 11, 2001.
Knowledge Acquired as Key Federal Aviation Safety Agent
I base these charges upon the knowledge that I originally acquired as a federal aviation safety agent, holding
a key aviation safety position in the federal government, who was given the assignment to correct the conditions
responsible for the worst series of airline crashes in the nation’s history at that time. In that position I had the
opportunity and the official authority to discover facts responsible for a series of airline disasters. These same
conditions, plus what I subsequently discovered, provide prima facie proof of the misconduct in government
offices that created the conditions enabling the hijackings of 9/11 to occur. I am prepared to provide testimony
and various forms of official and other documents to support my charges.
Based upon what I discovered in my official duties, and due to the standard practice of cover-up, as a
federal aviation safety agent I used the law in such a way that I acted in the role of an independent prosecutor,
seeking to expose and halt the deep-seated culture of misconduct within the government’s aviation safety
offices. In this role, I provided testimony and official documents, showing the relationship of deep-seated
misconduct in the government’s aviation safety offices that was associated with a series of airline disasters. I
warned of the continuing catastrophic consequences if the misconduct continued to be covered up.
Series of Fatal Consequences for the People of the State of New York
The people of the state of New York have been tragically affected, and many have been killed, by this
misconduct. The first example of this, that I discovered as a federal aviation safety agent, was the crash of a
United Airlines DC-8 into New York City (Brooklyn) on December 16, 1960, which was the world’s worst air
disaster at that time, and riddled with unpublicized corruption. It occurred on the program for which I
subsequently had direct aviation safety responsibilities. The most recent examples of how New York residents
were affected by the documented corruption were the hijackings of September 11, 2001.
Blowback and “Butterfly Effect”
As long as the cover-up of this corruption continues, so will the catastrophic consequences, showing both
the blowback and “butterfly effect.” The same problems that enabled the United DC-8 disaster in Brooklyn to
occur were part of the same underlying problems that enabled the conditions to exist that made the hijackings of
four airliners on 9/11 possible. If the misconduct that I earlier had exposed had been acted upon, or if the
standard cover-ups and obstruction of justice had not occurred, the events of 9/11 would not have occurred. The
same can be said of the present cover-ups and obstruction of justice by people in the federal government—and
elsewhere.
Sampling of Tragedy-Related Misconduct
Among the areas about which I could testify, and provide official evidence that I have in my possession,
includes the following:
 The corrupt culture, and deep-seated misconduct, within the government's aviation safety offices that
repeatedly blocked the reporting and correction of unsafe and illegal practices associated with a series of
airline disasters. This would include the misconduct that blocked the federal government from meeting its
federal aviation safety responsibilities in such areas as airline hijackings. Several of these airline disasters
occurred in Petitioner's immediate area of aviation safety responsibilities.
 Testimony that I and other government safety personnel provided in an adversary proceeding within the
Federal Aviation Administration, during which I acted similar to an independent prosecutor. The 4,000-page
hearing transcript showed the perjury and misconduct by people in government offices that caused and
enabled a series of fatal airline disasters to occur. This information would help explain why known safety
Petition and Declaration to Grand Jury, Manhattan, State of New York
1
problems were ignored, corrective actions blocked, and why preventable airline disasters continued to
occur—including 50 years of airline hijackings.
 People who participated in cover up of these deadly offenses.
 The retaliatory actions taken to block the reporting of these deadly problems, including the felony actions
taken against me (and other federal agents), the effect of such felonies upon national security matters, and
how these matters played key roles in the deadly hijackings of 9/11. And those events and deaths were only
one day’s consequences in only one of the areas affecting by the corruption and the cover-ups.
Unlike some other actions taken that dispute the government’s findings, the information I offer is based upon
official facts and does not involve conspiracy theories, or the type of charges made by people lacking the
necessary knowledge and aviation background.
Additional Information
Among the many uncorrected aviation safety problems that I and other federal aviation safety agents
discovered, reported, and tried to correct, were the following:
 Airline training and competency check programs at United Airlines that were a farce, which allowed
inadequately trained and unsafe crewmembers to continue in airline operations, and the primary cause
ford its great number of crashes at that time These programs did not meet the intent or the specifics of
federal aviation safety directives, and records were falsified to cover up for the failure to perform major
safety requirements that were legally required and accepted by most other airlines.
 Falsified records at certain airlines, primarily United Airlines, to falsely indicate federally required pilot
and flight engineer training and competency checks had been performed, when in fact they were not
performed. These matters were known to FAA management, who retaliated against inspectors who made
the reports. These problems constituted the primary behind-the-scene cause of the United DC-8 crash
into New York City, which was the world’s worst air disaster at that time.
 Falsified records indicating that federally required maintenance practices had been accomplished, when
in fact they were not accomplished. Several major aviation disasters resulted from this practice.
 One of many deadly examples of this FAA culture was the cremation-alive of 43 passengers in a United
Airlines crash at Salt Lake City. The NTSB properly identified the:
o Dangerous high sink rate technique by the pilot that resulted in the crash.
o Failure of the flight engineer to shut off the fuel pumps and fuel valves, leading to a massive fire as
fuel lines broke, blaming the flight engineer for this failure.
o Poor evacuation of the passengers by the flight crew.
 But the political NTSB board withheld from the report, thereby falsifying it, the following major
causative factors:
o I had earlier reported that same pilot having a dangerous high sink rate approach technique, that he
be required to have immediate corrective training, which was denied to him—with the abetting by
FAA management. I was even suspended from the program for three weeks for reporting this
dangerous practice of other pilots at United Airlines.
o I had repeatedly made lengthy report s on the unsafe nature of the United Airlines flight engineer
training program and the unsafe status of many of their flight engineers. Instead of taking corrective
actions as legally required, FAA management retaliated against me for making such reports,
destroyed some of my reports (felonies), and aviation-ignorant management charged me with
hallucinations for making such reports.
o I had reported several times that the airline was not providing emergency evacuation training to the
crew members as legally required, and that it was falsifying its records to indicate such training had
been accomplished. FAA management covered up for these violations, despite the fact that a prior
United Airlines crash as Denver, where many people were cremated alive, was the reason why that
emergency training requirement was issued.
o The above were the primary reasons for the shortcomings that the NTSB identified, but the NTSB
withheld information on this deep-seated misconduct, thereby continuing the culture, which resulted
in additional crashes and additional cover-up by the NTSB.
 Hundreds of airliner hijackings that were easily and inexpensively preventable. I and other inspectors
reported the urgency of ordering the inexpensive and easily accomplished preventative measures would
have halted the deadly practice of airline hijackings that have occurred for the past 40 years throughout
the world. Blowback and “butterfly effects” of these acts were felt for years, as in the hijackings of
September 11, 2001.
 Many other similar examples of deadly airline disasters can be provided, some of which I detail in my
various government and non-government writings and reports.
Petition and Declaration to Grand Jury, Manhattan, State of New York
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Actions I Had Taken to Report and Attempt Corrective Actions
Because of the great numbers of deaths and injuries and my moral and legal responsibility to act on these
serious matters, I took various steps to report, expose, and bring a halt to these deadly conditions. These actions
included, for instance, as a federal agent, filing official reports within the FAA; filing complaints with various
offices in the U.S. Department of Justice; filing complaints with members of Congress (many of whom admitted
the gravity of my charges and then did nothing); acting in the role of an independent prosecutor and conducting
six months of hearings within the FAA.
As a private citizen concerned about the continuing airline disasters, I then took other actions, including the
following:
 Shortly after leaving government service, refusing to work under such corrupt conditions, I filed several
lawsuits1 against the FAA; and also the National Transportation Safety Board for its cover-ups of the
corruption within the FAA and its falsification of certain airline crash reports to shield the misconduct from
the public. These lawsuits were filed under the mandatory responsibilities of the federal crime reporting
statute (18 U.S.C. § 4)2 that requires anyone knowing of a federal crime to report it to a federal judge, and
that federal judge has an administrative duty to receive the information and evidence. The refusal to receive
the information made possible the continuation of the criminal activities and the continuation of airline
disasters arising from such misconduct—which includes the events of 9/11.
 Over a period of years, due to my efforts becoming known nationally,3 other government agents provided
me with information on misconduct in other government offices that was inflicting great harm upon other
areas of national security. I then filed lawsuits attempting to have a federal judge receive information on
what I and these other government agents had found. The last lawsuit seeking to report these matters prior to
the September 11 hijackings was in Reno, Nevada.4 Again, the federal judge blocked us from making the
reports, which violated federal criminal statutes.
 One of two lawsuits that I filed after the events of 9/11, seeking to report the misconduct in government
offices that created the conditions enabling terrorists to hijack four airliners, was filed in the U.S. district
court, New York, (Case # 03 CV 7405), which was again blocked by the federal judge. That action was
appealed (Case # 03-6244), briefs were filed, and I provided oral argument to the court of appeals at Foley
Square on August 24, 2004. The three appellate judges continued to block the reports, supporting the
wrongful acts of the district judge. That appeal is now before the court of appeals en banc, and a decision
has yet to be made. Because of the extreme gravity of the matter, I expect the court of appeals to en banc
continue the cover-up.
Discovering Other Areas of Corruption Harming National Security
 Many other government agents contacted me over a period of many years with information and
documentation on areas of corruption5 in government offices that they had discovered. (I detail some of
these areas in subsequent books, including the E-book and print-book formats of Unfriendly Skies;
Defrauding America; Drugging America; and Terrorism Against America. The sole purpose for writing
these books has been to circumvent the cover-ups and inform the public of these matters, with the hope that
there would be sufficient outrage to force corrective actions.
 In 1986, based upon this additional information, I again exercised my responsibilities to report the federal
crimes under the federal crime reporting statute. Again, federal judges and Justice Department lawyers
blocked me and my sources from providing evidence of these criminal, and even subversive, activities.
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Federal judges used various tactics to block the reporting of these criminal activities. In addition to blocking the
reports being made under the federal criminal statutes (18 U.S.C. § 4), federal judges 6 started issuing unlawful and
unconstitutional orders permanently barring me access to the federal district and appellate courts. These orders
continue in effect to this day, barring me from either reporting the criminal activities or in defending against the
numerous attacks that have been made to halt my exposure activities.
Last Judicial Obstruction-of-Justice Prior to September 11, 2001
In my last attempt prior to 9/11 to report these criminal activities, I filed a lawsuit7 in the U.S. district court at
Reno, Nevada. Several issues were raised in that lawsuit, including the attempt to report the criminal activities
and relief from the multiple unlawful and unconstitutional actions that were part of parallel efforts to halt my
exposure activities. These violations of federally protected rights included orders permanently depriving me the
right to access the courts and the termination of my civil and constitutional rights and protections that were
taken by the series of injunctive orders; and attempt to have ruled invalid the judicial seizure and liquidation of
the $10 million in assets that funded my exposure of the criminal activities.
Petition and Declaration to Grand Jury, Manhattan, State of New York
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As in the past, the federal judge8 blocked the reporting of the criminal activities and blocked my other causes of
actions.
I then filed an appeal with the Ninth Circuit court of appeals—where the obstruction of justice had commenced
in the late 1970s and continues to this day. The appellate judges9 ruled that the prior injunctions permanently
barred me from the due process and equal protection right to file papers in the district and appellate courts,
including the right to file appeals. That ruling was made after the 3,000 deaths occurred on 9/11.
Included in Issues Needing to be Addressed Relating to 9/11
Included in the issues that must be addressed to determine the people responsible for the conditions enabling
terrorists to hijack four airliners on September 11, 2001, are the following:
o Understand where the primary blame lies for the successful hijacking of four airliners on September 11,
2001. The blame for the conditions that enabled terrorists to hijack four airliners on 9/11 rests primarily
with people in the government’s aviation safety offices. They had the authority, responsibility, and
knowledge of this ongoing aircraft-hijacking problem. Ignoring hundreds of prior hijackings is far more
than a problem of stupidity on the part of government aviation safety personnel.
o The present tactic of placing the blame on a more innocent intelligence failure is either a deliberate
diversionary tactic plus ignorance in some quarters. Relying solely on being told that a criminal event
was to take place obviously cannot supersede the need to take known and required preventative
measures for continuing hijackings that had been occurring for the prior 40 years.
o Determine from government insiders who had reported the problems and have evidence of these reports
the arrogance and corruption within the government’s aviation safety offices responsible for thousands
of deaths over the years. I have the documents to prove this deep-seated problem, including the 4000page hearing transcript from the FAA hearing at which I acted as an independent prosecutor.
o Examine the relationship of the corruption to specific airline crashes—including years of airline
hijackings, and many that occurred in my immediate area of government aviation safety responsibilities.
o Receive my testimony and documents that prove a pattern of obstruction of justice and felony retaliation
against a former federal agent and witness, perpetrated by federal judges and Justice Department
lawyers, that played key roles in the 3,000 deaths on September 11, and key roles in other tragedies,
some ongoing.
o Obtain testimony from some of my sources (former and present government agents), concerning the
corruption in government offices in the aviation and in other areas. This evidence will show the
cancerous spread of corruption in government, made possible by the cowardly or profitable cover-ups.
My Background, Credibility, and Ability to Discover These Matters
I am a former federal aviation safety agent with an unusual background. I have over 60 years of
sophisticated aviation experience, starting in 1941.
o During World War II, I was a Navy patrol plane commander in Liberators and Privateers, and taught
pilots in the PBY Catalina aircraft.
o After the war, I was an international airline captain for many years, flying captain in virtually every
propeller plane flown by the airlines, from the DC-3 up to and including the Constellation and Boeing
Stratocruiser. I am also checked out in several of the large airline jets.
o I later became an air safety inspector-investigator for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). During
my official duties for the federal government I was given the assignment to correct the conditions
responsible for the worst series of aviation disasters in the nation’s history. This is where, as a federal
inspector-investigator, I initially discovered and documented the deep-seated culture and corruption
within the government aviation safety offices that was responsible for decades of preventable airline
crashes. One of those crashes was the world’s worst at that time, occurring in Brooklyn, New York. The
same deep-seated misconduct that made that New York City disaster and many others possible is the
same deep-seated misconduct that created the conditions that enabled terrorists to hijack four airliners on
September 11, 2001.
o I have written numerous highly detailed and documented books addressing these problems that made the
events of 9/11 possible, including multiple E-book and print-book editions of Unfriendly Skies;
Defrauding America; Drugging America; Terrorism Against America. The primary purpose of these
books was to inform the public of serious problems in an attempt to circumvent the system-wide coverups endemic in government offices.
o I have appeared as guest and expert on over 3,000 radio and television shows since 1978, seeking to
inform the public of matters gravely affecting aviation safety.
o Over the years I have become a confidant to dozens of present and former government agents who have
provided me with information and evidence concerning corruption in other government offices and
government operations that continue to subvert the national security of the United States.
Summary
Hundreds of airliner hijackings have occurred during the 40 years prior to the successful hijackings of four
airlines on September 11.
Petition and Declaration to Grand Jury, Manhattan, State of New York
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FAA safety inspectors, including myself, had reported the urgent need for the FAA to order the simple and
inexpensive preventative measures that would have prevented most of the hijackings and related deaths (and
other preventable aviation disasters arising from known unsafe or illegal practices).
 FAA management personnel had the authority and responsibility to order these preventative measures.
 FAA management engaged in a pattern of arrogance and corruption, knowingly causing the deaths of many
people over the years.
 Evidence of these criminal activities is found in official government documents, some of which are in my
possession; in the 4000-page hearing transcript where I acted as an independent prosecutor while an FAA
inspector; in other records that I possess; in my testimony, and testimony of other former federal agents. My
evidence, and that of the dozens of former government agents and other insiders to whom I have become a
confidant, would reveal other areas of corruption in government offices that continues to inflict great harm
upon important national interests, including national security, and the harm inflicted upon innocent people.
 Federal judges and Justice Department prosecutors engaged in a documented series of criminal activities to
block my reporting of these matters, with awesome consequences for the United States and its people.
 If the matters detailed in this statement are not fully exposed the same deadly consequences affecting
aviation will continue as they have from when I first made similar warnings into official government
records.
A letter sent to Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, offering to provide information, was also ignored. This petition,
therefore, seeks to circumvent the office of the Manhattan District Attorney. Petitioner recognizes that even if
this petition is received by the grand jury, that unless a majority of its members are sufficiently sophisticated
and determined to have the truth revealed, that the prosecutor would act to prevent the grand jury from
proceeding.
This occurred many years ago in a federal grand jury when Petitioner appeared and offered to provide
evidence-while he was a federal aviation safety agent. The blowback and "butterfly effect" consequences of this
block was seen in repeated airline disasters-the latest being the four hijackings of 9/11.
Executed this first day of December 2004.
Rodney F. Stich
POB 5, Alamo, CA 94507
Certified mail, # 7002 0860 0003 9592 7303, sent to the Grand Jury, Manhattan, via Attorney General Eliot
Spitzer, with copy to New York Governor George Pataki and Inspector General Jill Konviser-Levine.
1
Stich v. United States, et al., 554 F.2d 1070 (9th Cir.) (table), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 920 (1977)(addressed hard-core air safety
misconduct, violations of federal air safety laws, threats against government inspectors not to report safety violations and misconduct);
Stich v. National Transportation Safety Board, 685 F.2d 446 (9th Cir.)(table), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 861 (1982))(addressed repeated
criminal falsification of official airline accident reports, omitting highly sensitive air safety misconduct, making possible repeated
crashes from the same sequestered problems); Amicus curiae brief filed on July 17, 1975, in the Paris DC-10 multi-district litigation,
Flanagan v. McDonnell Douglas Corporation and United States of America, Civil Action 74-808-PH, MDL 172, Central District
California.)(addressing the long standing FAA misconduct, of which the coverup of the DC-10 cargo door problem was one of
repeated instances of tragedy related misconduct); U.S. v. Department of Justice, District of Columbia, Nos. 86-2523, 87-2214, and
other actions filed by claimant seeking to expose and correct the powerful and covert air disaster misconduct.
2
Title 18 USC § 4. Misprision of felony. Whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court
of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military
authority under the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
3
My informational books and thousands of radio and television appearances made me known to many other government agents
seeking to expose corruption in government offices.
4
Reno, Nevada lawsuit, Nr. CV-N-00-0152-ECR-PHA.
5
Among the dozens of courageous present and former government agents who contacted me during the past 18 years have been
agents of the FBI, CIA, DEA, Customs, INS and other federal and state agencies. The information and documentation that they have
provided me shows that the secondary blame for the success of the 19 hijackers was far more than an intelligence failure in certain
government agencies. Rather, a level of corruption that remains unaddressed and which will remain until there is a full-blown
investigation (which will never occur). However, the information I acquired shows a degree of criminality and subversive misconduct
implicating people in key government positions.
Petition and Declaration to Grand Jury, Manhattan, State of New York
5
6
Among many federal judges participating in the series of orders obstructing the reporting of these crimes were Marilyn Patel,
Milton Schwartz, Levi, Stanley Sporkin,
7
Reno, Nevada filing, Nr. CV-N-00-0152-ECR-PHA. March 24, 2000.
8
U.S. District Judge Howard C. Reed, Jr.
9
Ninth Circuit appellate judges James R. Browning, Andrew Kleinfeld, Ronald Gould. Order dated April 12, 2002.
Petition and Declaration to Grand Jury, Manhattan, State of New York
6