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Dan Hanley grew up in the small town of Belleville
in southern Illinois and was fortunate enough to fulfill his childhood dream of flying commercial jet aircraft as his
chosen career. After receiving his commercial license and instrument rating in 1969 that he worked full-time at night
to pay for, and achievement of a BS in Applied Math from Southern Illinois University, he completed a six-year stint
as a Naval Aviator flying the P-3 Orion aircraft. He was subsequently hired as a pilot in 1978 by United Airlines. During
the years that ensued, he endured many years of typical labor/management strife that included a furlough and a bitter
strike in 1985. He was a JFK-based United Airlines B-777 captain on 9/11. After 9/11 and with United Airlines in bankruptcy
beating organized labor to death with the blessings of the bankruptcy judge , he attempted to speak out on alleged violations
of federal aviation regulations and security frailties, as well as RICO statutes. As a result of his honest efforts, he
was rewarded by expulsion from the property on trumped up charges, thereby destroying a 35-year aviation career that he
worked so hard to achieve, as do all commercial airline pilots.
Synopsis
This
personal story provides a biographical insight into the legal, ethical, and moral decisions made by a United Airlines
B-777 captain who, as a federal whistleblower in the post-9/11 era, was severely tested in his courage, strength, leadership,
and principles as a career 35-year naval aviation and airline veteran. With at best a 2% probability of success
for today’s federal whistleblowers given an increasingly corrupt business and government environment due to the political
pressures exerted by extraneous financial influences, the decision to step forward and speak out on criminality
requires a deep examination of conscience and a guarded trust in government before proceeding. The 60-year chronicle
of events in the life of Captain Dan Hanley provides a fascinating flight path to a spiritual journey taken by few
in trying times and concludes with his establishment of a global grassroots coalition of airline safety and security organizations
whose purpose has been to expose this corruption to the worldwide traveling public.
Captain Dan Hanley currently serves as national public spokesperson for
the Whistleblowing Airline Employees Association at http:www.airline-whistleblowers.org.
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