Hijacking of Flight 100: Terror at 600 miles per hour
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Assistant Dispatcher Clerk Becky Meriwether - Was promoted to the full status of FAA certified Dispatcher on the airline’s domestic operation. She filled Lazlo Fielding’s vacancy. The company anticipates Dispatcher Meriwether will eventually be promoted to a position of Senior Dispatcher at the Lazlo Fielding Dispatch Center at Kennedy International Airport.
Federal Aviation Administration Director of Security Dick Clifton - Was appointed to a new position as the Deputy Administrator of Federal Aviation Administration. His promotion created a vacancy in the FAA’s Anti-Terrorist Unit.
John Batchelor - Eagerly accepted the vacant position of Director of Security with the FAA. This vacancy was created by Richard Clifton’s promotion. One of Batchleor’s first official acts was to transfer Ed James to the Engineering, Environmental and Planning department at the Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage, Alaska.
Federal Aviation Administration Manager Ed James - Tried unsuccessfully to bid for the vacant position Director of Security with the FAA. Upon Dick Clifton’s recommendation, the FAA offered John Batchelor his old job in Oklahoma City.
Director of Security Operations Robert Ford Burns - Spent over a year cooperating with various federal and local law enforcement agencies in their post-hijacking investigations.
He retired from the airline and was offered an attractive investigator position with a quasi-paramilitary anti-hijacking organization. He considered the offer, but graciously declined. From time to time, he consults with various entities on airline security matters.
He and his wife have returned to San Diego, California, where they enjoy being with their grandchildren, family and friends from his law enforcement career.
Cabin Attendant Carlton Marsh – Upon his return San Francisco, he began to suffer the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He retained the services of a well-known San Francisco law firm that specializes in workplace liability claims.
Carlton never returned to active flying status. For several months after the hijacking he remained on sick call. Just over two years after the hijacking took place, Carlton Marsh died from the misdiagnosed, but untreatable effects of Human immunodeficiency virus infection / acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS).
Cabin Attendant Patti Mallory - Continued to fly from the San Francisco domicile. She moved to Sausalito with her newly-minted husband, Fred O’Day. They are expecting their first child in May.
Senior Ticket Agent Harold Miller - Was offered a promotion to Shift Supervisor and Lead Agent at the Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport in Rio de Janeiro. He accepted the position. His employer did a routine background check at the request of the bond company who provide bonding and insurance for all the airline’s overseas employees. The investigation discovered Miller had over $250,000 in saving and checking accounts at various financial institutions in New York, Denver, San Francisco.
He was terminated. However, because of a petition filed with EEOC, that action was later rescinded. He was given a choice of resignation or retirement in exchange for a written agreement he would not bring a lawsuit against the airline. He elected to retire, assuming he would find employment with another.
The bonding company quietly let Harold’s larcenous behaviors be known throughout the airline industry. He essentially has unofficially been “blackballed” from the aviation community. He has plans to relocate to the Bahamas.
Guillermo Bill Guerrero - Was arrested, indicted and brought to trial in United States District Court in the Southern District of Florida. At trial, he was easily and quickly convicted of Aerial Piracy, with Force. He was sentenced to thirty years in Federal Prison, with no provision for parole. That conviction and prison sentence is on an automatic appeal.
He was also brought to trial in San Francisco (in absentia) on related charges resulting from his attempted murder of Carlton Marsh. He was convicted and sentenced to a twenty-year prison term at Corcoran Correctional Center in California. His California sentence will commence at the conclusion of his Federal sentence.
Juan Guerrero - Was implicated by Bill Guerrero, in the planning and execution of the hijacking of Flight 100. Juan Guerrero was arrested, convicted and sentenced to fifteen years in a Federal Penitentiary, in Leavenworth, Kansas.
Joaquin Guerrero - Waited in Havana for the unscheduled arrival of flight 100 until it was announced on Radio Havana that the hijacked flight had safely landed in Miami. United States and Cuban law enforcement officials jointly suspect his role in the hijacking, but have not been able to bring a case against him. Furthermore, because the 747 didn’t land on Cuban soil, Joaquin Guerrero was never arrested. He eventually returned and continues to work at odd jobs in an around the Jose Marti Airport in Havana.
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Hijacking of Flight 100! I hope you’ve enjoyed your reading experience.
The development of the characters and the plot were a labor of love. My hope is that you came to know the characters as I had intended. As one reader said, “There were some in the book that I absolutely loved and others I thought were complete jerks.”
As I wrote, edited, rewrote and re-edited, I sought input and suggestions from many potential readers. I asked for, and received, their ideas about cover design, plot lines and overall reaction to the evolving concept of the book. There is no doubt the book would have looked much different had I not solicited, and then followed, reader input. From a writer’s point of view, I find those reactions to be affirming. I want my readers to engage in the book and strongly react to what has transpired.
As an author, I love feedback from readers. Tell me what you liked, what you loved and even what you didn’t hated. I’d love to hear from you. Please contact me at claytonjstott@gmail.com, Google+ or on Facebook at C J Stott Author. After you have finished reading Hijacking of Flight 100 please provide a review of my novel to Amazon and Kindle.
So, what is next? The short answer is, “Plenty.” Work is well underway on the sequel. While Hijacking of Flight 100 was largely about the terror and thoughts regarding pilot competencies, the sequel will focus on the aftermath of a hijacking.
All of your favorite characters remain alive and well in the sequel. Don Webber, now struggles with personal and professional ruin and Fred O’Day, remains irrepressible as ever. Both are central to the sequel. Studious and thoughtful Stan Kurtz, Robert Burns and Patty Mallory continue to play pivotal roles. New characters with significant roles will be introduced to you. These new and formidable characters will have access the White House, United States Congress and the national news media. As is often the case in airline disasters, the truth is as diffused as a morning fog.
Readers will learn about federal agency blame-shifting and political posturing. Monumental governmental interagency squabbles will be a common thread through the tapestry. Colorful bureaucrats abound looking only for their own career-enhancing interests. Outwardly, attempts to determine what happened and what could or should have been done to avoid this act of aerial piracy. However, much of this activity is only for show in the national media.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
C J Stott is retired from Pepperdine University School of Law, where he served as the Assistant Director with the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution and Adjunct Professor of Law. He was a sworn Commissioner with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. He provided labor/management mediation services to a wide range of national clients including major hotels in Los Angeles, Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles Dodgers, Coca Cola, Disneyland Resorts, Staples Center, Southwest Airlines, Toyota Motor Sales and the Los Angeles Police Department.
Prior to his affiliation with Pepperdine University he was a pilot with Trans World Airlines in Los Angeles and New York. He flew over 15,000 hours in Boeing 727, 707, 747 and Lockheed L-1011 aircraft to Europe, Africa, Asia and South America as First and Second Officer. He was elected to the Board of Directors of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) for
over 20 years. He has also served on various airline and commercial aviation groups with regard to labor disagreements, union contracts, safety issues as well as mergers acquisitions and bankruptcies. He lives with his wife near Seattle, Washington.
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