
Warnings Unheeded
Twin Tragedies at Fairchild Air Force Base
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Narrated by:
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Michael F. Cochrane
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By:
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Andy Brown
Mass murder and military aviation disaster. One community's experience with two fatal tragedies that occurred suddenly...but not without warning.
On 20 June 1994, a gunman opened fire on the patrons and staff of the Fairchild Air Force Base hospital. Four days later, a B-52 bomber with four souls onboard went down in a fiery crash. Hundreds of ordinary men and women experienced the tragedies...countless others had struggled to prevent them.
Everyone who met the would-be gunman thought he was odd, but the disturbed airman struck fear in those who knew him. Doctors had him committed to a military psychiatric ward, only to watch him slip through the cracks of a broken system. They warned their staff, "This is the kind of patient who...one day...he's going to come back and kill you."
A veteran B-52 pilot wowed the crowd at Fairchild’s annual air shows. But the men who had to fly with him shared tales of the reckless aviator routinely stressing the airliner-sized bomber and her crew to their breaking point. When their leadership failed to act, concerned aircrews said, "We predicted the worst air-show disaster in history when we found out that he was gonna fly."
Warnings Unheeded is compelling narrative nonfiction from former military policeman and criminal investigator, Andy Brown. Drawing from extensive research, and interviews with the people who witnessed the tragedies unfold, Brown captures their story with cinematic clarity. As the man who ended the killing spree, Brown reveals how he had prepared for the deadly gunfight and offers a candid insight into the hidden cost of becoming a "hero".
Warnings Unheeded is a story of courage and resilience, a true survival story and a lesson from history.
Listen to this fascinating true story of mental illness, mass murder, and aviation disaster.
"A highly readable book...from a unique source. Recommended for a wide audience." (Ron Franscell, best-selling true-crime author of Delivered From Evil and The Darkest Night)
©2016 Andy Brown (P)2017 Andy BrownListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
"In vivid and thoroughly researched detail, Andy Brown masterfully weaves two tragic stories ... this is an important and well-written read." (Gregory K. Moffatt, PhD, author of Blind-Sided: Homicide Where It Is Least Expected)
Powerful, Instructive, Tragic
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Thank you Andy Brown for writing this book and filling in so many holes about that day.
Oh...and I was walking out of the BX that Friday, the 24th, buying a sympathy card to take to Dr. London's memorial service. I saw the B-52 crash.... thanks for all the research you did to document the SYSTEMIC idiocy that allowed that damn hot dog F15 pilot wannabe to continue flying and endangering others. I had NO idea that the copilot's teen son's and wife watched the crash. Dear Lord....
Lastly Andy, I'm thrilled to hear your life is joyful in Spokane, a community I love and maintain ties to still.
God bless you and your family.
The memories of that day came flooding back...
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Excellent! Should be required reading
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Excellent narration of two very sad occurrences
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excellent
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Well written account of two tragic events
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The book chronicles two tragedies at Fairchild Air Force Base within 2 weeks of each other in June of 1994: one a mass shooting at a Base Hospital perpetrated by a mentally deranged individual who managed to manipulate the medical system established within the military at the time to keep him enlisted; the other, a crash of a B-52 Stratofortress heavy-bomber (callsign, Czar-52) during a rehearsal flight the day before the annual Fairchild Air Show, the pilot of which being a chronically reckless individual who never resisted the urge to push the boundaries of the aircraft he flew- regardless of the wishes and wellbeing of not only his superiors and other higher-ups, but that of the fellow airmen flying alongside him. The failure of authorities to adequately prevent these losses of human life is hard to fathom, but from another point of view, were just results of a system of accountability that failed every man and woman on that base, up to, and including, the men who caused the incidents in question.
Brown's account of events is unique, him having been the person who successfully stopped the shooter before he could continue his rampage further. He lays down precisely what led to these two events, in maddening, brutal details, that will cause readers to question aloud why the leadership of a military installation failed to step in, when both of these individuals displayed serious signs of both mental instability and careless abandon for human life. At the same time, they will be answered with reasoning that will only be reminding of a key fault with any man-made system: the fact that they aren't always perfect. Mortal systems, even that of a military nature, never have been, and never will be... unless the process of accountability is upheld at the highest possible standards.
Like I said, this story is relevant. I really wish I read the paperback, there's way more material in the form of official documents, photos and diagrams showing the layout of the locations and where every event took place. It's worth listening to, but I, personally, would've gone with another narrator. That's my only complaint.
A Book More People Should Be Reading...
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Important lessons and well written.
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Eye opening details
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My review of Warnings Unheeded by Ssgt Andy Brown
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