The Airline Fired a Single Dad—Hours Later, a Jet Lost Both Engines
Chapter 5
The next morning, Marcus and Elena met at a small coffee shop near the airport.
She had spent the night researching Daniel Price and Gerald Knox.
“We found something,” Elena said.
She opened her laptop.
“Six months ago, the airline changed suppliers.”
“Which supplier?”
“A company called Aerodyne Components.”
Marcus recognized the name.
“They had safety complaints.”
“Three.”
“More than three.”
Elena looked surprised.
“How many?”
“Officially? Three.”
“Unofficially?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Fourteen.”
She stared at him.
“How do you know?”
“Because I was the one receiving the internal reports.”
Marcus had spent months warning management about inconsistent component quality.
Every report had gone nowhere.
Then he noticed a payment trail.
Aerodyne had been awarded a huge contract shortly after Daniel Price became regional operations director.
“That’s interesting,” Elena said.
“It gets worse.”
Marcus pointed at another document.
Daniel Price’s brother owned a small consulting company.
That company had received millions in payments from Aerodyne.
Elena sat back.
“So Price had a financial connection.”
“Yes.”
“Can we prove it?”
“Not yet.”
Marcus’s phone rang.
Kevin.
He sounded frightened.
“Marcus, don’t come near the airport.”
“Why?”
“Security is asking questions about you.”
“Why?”
“They know you accessed the old maintenance system.”
Marcus’s stomach tightened.
“Who told them?”
“I don’t know.”
“Kevin.”
“Marcus, listen to me.”
His voice dropped.
“They’re deleting records.”
Marcus looked at Elena.
“What records?”
“Your safety reports.”
Marcus stood.
“Which ones?”
“All of them.”
The line went dead.
Elena looked at him.
“Can they erase regulatory copies?”
“No.”
“Then we have to get there.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because if they know I’m investigating, they’ll know what I’m looking for.”
He opened his laptop.
“We need the regulator first.”
They contacted an FAA investigator Marcus had worked with years earlier.
Her name was Rebecca Owens.
She agreed to meet.
At noon, Rebecca arrived carrying a sealed evidence box.
“Marcus.”
“Rebecca.”
She put the box on the table.
“I received your call.”
“What did you find?”
Rebecca opened the box.
Inside were printed copies of maintenance records.
“The regulatory archive shows that the fuel-system flush on Flight 482 was scheduled for twenty-eight minutes.”
Marcus nodded.
“And the actual logged time?”
“Eight.”
Rebecca continued.
“Flight 611 received the same procedure.”
Marcus looked at Elena.
“Same technician?”
Rebecca shook her head.
“Different technician.”
“Then who ordered the shortened procedure?”
Rebecca handed him another page.
“Emergency operational directive.”
Signed by Gerald Knox.
Marcus stared at it.
“Why would he do that?”
Rebecca’s expression hardened.
“Because the airport was under a severe scheduling delay.”
“So they rushed the safety procedure.”
“Yes.”
“That still doesn’t explain the fuel-control unit.”
Rebecca handed him another document.
The part installed was listed as approved.
Marcus frowned.
“It wasn’t.”
“I know.”
“Then why does the record say it was?”
Rebecca leaned forward.
“Because the part number was changed in the system after installation.”
Marcus’s blood ran cold.
“Who changed it?”
Rebecca pointed to the authorization.
Gerald Knox.
Elena whispered,
“This is deliberate.”
Rebecca nodded.
“And there’s something else.”
“What?”
“Flight 482’s original inspection report.”
Marcus looked at the page.
His handwriting was there.
He had written:
POTENTIAL FUEL CONTAMINATION. AIRCRAFT SHOULD NOT DEPART UNTIL FURTHER TESTING IS COMPLETED.
But beneath it, someone had stamped:
REVIEWED AND CLEARED.
Marcus stared.
“That isn’t my signature.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“No.”
“Then who signed it?”
She turned the page.
Marcus read the name.
Gerald Knox.
For the first time, Marcus understood why he had been fired.
Someone had needed him gone before the evidence connected.
And they had almost succeeded.
