(Part 2 of 2) When 260 people died aboard Air India Flight 171 and on the ground, the world was given a simple explanation—but what if it’s not only wrong, but a deliberate effort to deflect the truth? In this two-part episode, Ed and Joe are joined by relentless investigative journalist Rachel Chitra, who has uncovered gaps, omissions, and uncomfortable questions buried deep within the official probe. Meanwhile, electrical engineer Jeremy John Thompson lays out a chilling scenario of cascadi...
May 6
56 min
(Part 1 of 2) When 260 people died aboard Air India Flight 171 and on the ground, the world was given a simple explanation—but what if it’s not only wrong, but a deliberate effort to deflect the truth? In this two-part episode, Ed and Joe are joined by relentless investigative journalist Rachel Chitra, who has uncovered gaps, omissions, and uncomfortable questions buried deep within the official probe. Meanwhile, electrical engineer Jeremy John Thompson lays out a chilling scenario of cascadi...
May 6
44 min
On June 12, 2025, Air India Flight 171—a Boeing 787-8—went down just moments after takeoff. Within weeks, a preliminary report pointed the finger at the pilots, citing fuel cutoff switches that allegedly "transitioned" from run to cutoff. Case closed—or so it seemed. But what if that story doesn’t hold up? Electrical engineer Jeremy John Thompson saw something else. In this episode of Warning Bells, Ed and Joe talk with Jeremy about his painstaking technical analysis—an investigation built fr...
Feb 9
1 hr 12 min
Join Ed and Joe on Warning Bells as they welcome Charles Hoefer for a chilling deep dive into a case that ties a brand-new RV factory to the illicit production of critical flight components, reveals troubling government inaction, and raises urgent questions about hidden safety risks to passengers and flight crews.
Dec 20, 2025
1 hr 4 min
The Boeing 737 MAX exposed a catastrophic failure in the U.S. aircraft certification system — two crashes, 347 lives lost, and a crisis of confidence that shook aviation to its core. The FAA promised reform. Instead, insiders say problems have not been admitted or corrected. Now, as Boeing pushes to accelerate the certification of its next-generation jets — the 737 MAX 7, MAX 10, and 777X — the FAA is quietly making that process even easier (i.e. "streamlined"). What does that mean for...
Oct 22, 2025
50 min
In this episode of Warning Bells, Foundation for Aviation Safety’s Ed Pierson and Randy Klatt examine how leadership—or the lack of it—shapes aviation accident investigations. Drawing lessons from recent tragedies, including the Air India Flight 171 disaster, they discuss the crucial role of integrity, humility, and accountability in uncovering the truth. The conversation highlights the inherent conflicts of interest when manufacturers and regulators investigate their own products, the danger...
Sep 3, 2025
51 min
Join host Ed, Joe, and Randy as they sit down with Juan Browne—airline captain, Air Force veteran, and the voice behind the Blancolirio aviation channel—for an unfiltered conversation about transparency in aviation investigations, healthy speculation, and why the aviation community deserves timely access to factual data.
Jul 16, 2025
1 hr
In this episode of Warning Bells, Ed Pierson welcomes Petter Hörnfeldt—better known as the Mentour Pilot—to discuss aviation safety, pilot trust, and the critical role of transparency in an evolving industry. Alongside Joe Jacobsen and Randy Klatt of The Foundation for Aviation Safety, they unpack the realities behind the Boeing 737 MAX, examine the risks of safety complacency, and discuss how pilots rely on a wide array of support systems and other aviation professionals.
Jun 24, 2025
1 hr 16 min
Every day, millions of passengers board planes, trusting that someone, somewhere, is keeping them safe. But behind the polished image of commercial aviation lies a hidden, bureaucratic process—managed quietly by the FAA and other aviation regulators—that is supposed to identify and communicate dangerous aircraft defects. When a problem is discovered, however, the FAA doesn’t sound an alarm alerting passengers to unsafe conditions—it sends out dense, technical service bulletins that can take s...
May 18, 2025
53 min
The FAA continues to fail in their oversight of Boeing’s manufacturing operations. Boeing whistleblowers have been complaining for years about the illegal removal of thousands of quality control inspections on individual airplanes. By the time the FAA acted, it was too little, too late. 346 people died in two MAX crashes and hundreds of airplanes have already been delivered to unsuspecting airline customers around the world. So how did this happen? Join Ed, Joe, and safety expert Randy Klat...
Apr 10, 2025
57 min
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