Notes for 17 APR 28

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2017 APR 28

BOOK REVIEW

SWISSAIR CRASH INVESTIGATOR BELIEVES THERE WAS A COVER-UP

BRUCE MACNAB - CHRONICLE HERALD
Published April 28, 2017 - 5:37pm

Mountie exposes corrupt Flight 111 investigation in new book It’s refreshing to read an investigative book written by an expert rather than a journalist.

Halifax media struggles with trades content. A local reporter once called an angle grinder a torch. Another time, the Nova Scotia CBC labeled an oil supply line as a wire.

Imagine them trying to make heads or tails of the Swissair Flight 111 wreckage which included four million pieces of debris along with much of the plane’s 250 miles of wiring.

Thomas Juby, author of Twice as Far, was an RCMP investigator assigned to the four-year crash investigation of Swissair Flight 111. The massive MD-11 aircraft crashed off Peggy’s Cove while en route from New York to Geneva, killing all 229 passengers and crew.

Early in his book, Juby offers these little-known details about the Sept. 2, 1998 flight: The first class passengers had been moved to the rear of the aircraft, and all aboard were dead before the plane crashed.

Recalling how the victims’ remains arrived at the morgue, Juby wrote, “Suddenly there was this overwhelming realization that every body was in dozens if not hundreds of pieces.”

Confusion presided when X-rays revealed thousands of metal beads embedded in the human flesh. By checking the flight’s cargo docket, these were traced to a shipment of tungsten balls used for ballpoint pens.

Inexplicably, on the third day of the investigation, the Transportation Safety Board announced there would be no criminal investigation of the crash.

As a result, the ongoing profiling of passengers and airline employees was abandoned even though disturbing leads were developing. Juby reports, “Of the employees who serviced the aircraft just prior to its last departure, one was never found again. He worked the one shift to service this aircraft and left. He had provided fake identification to his employer when hired.”

As the investigation continued, much of the wreckage was retrieved and partially re-assembled on a frame inside a Shearwater hangar. It became obvious a fire had ignited and burned above the ceiling of the plane’s forward cabin.

Convincing evidence of an improvised explosive device was found. This was confirmed by Dr. Jim Brown, a government scientist with Natural Resources Canada who examined telltale magnesium deposits on burnt wiring.

No evidence of an explosion was discovered, but as Juby explains, “Many such devices had been found to ignite and burn rather than ignite and explode, thus actually becoming an incendiary device.”

The RCMP team identified potential suspects including bin Laden and Al Qaeda. Juby reminds readers, “It must be noted this was taking place in 1999, more than two years before bin Laden and his group became common household knowledge because of his cold-blooded and cowardly attacks of 9-11.”

In spite of evidence pointing to a homemade bomb, top brass with the RCMP and Transportation Safety Board would not shift gears and pursue a criminal investigation. Instead, they went into cover-up mode.

First, skilled FBI investigators — fresh from investigating the TWA 800 flight that exploded and crashed off Long Island in 1996 — were blocked from viewing the Swissair wreckage.

Then Dr. Brown’s magnesium report was altered.

An RCMP chief superintendent wrote, “. . . even if an incendiary device is found, we will not be able to identify it to an individual at this late date, so there is no use conducting such an investigation.”

Finally, RCMP supervisors forced Juby to change his notes, an apparent Criminal Code offense for obstructing a police officer.

Many more stories about unskilled investigators, manipulative bureaucrats, duped journalists, and promotion-seeking managers tumble from the pages of Twice as Far.

Be warned that Juby’s blunt tone might upset sensitive readers, like this description of several five pound bags of teeth. “They had come from the final recovery that had vacuumed the sea floor. A few had gold fillings, others were bright white, while others were stained and tainted with bridges and other fixtures. These remains were unidentified, so this material went to the mass grave for the victims.”

Clearly, Juby is still haunted by what he believes was a cover-up. In the closing pages of Twice as Far, he wrote:

". . . if the file had been handled properly, would 9-11 and the subsequent two wars have occurred?

I have thought about that every day since then."

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2017 SEP 11

Q & A WITH AUTHOR THOMAS JUBY

BRUCE MACNAB - CHRONICLE HERALD
Published April 28, 2017 - 2:46pm

Thomas Juby is a retired RCMP sergeant with 32 years of service. As a forensic crime scene investigator, the Nova Scotia resident attended more than 100 murder scenes, more than 1,000 sudden death scenes, and hundreds of fire scenes. A veteran of hundreds of court presentations, he assisted in the investigation of the Swissair 111 airplane crash. Author Bruce MacNab asked him some follow-up questions about his new book, Twice as Far.

1. The Swissair wreckage was sold for scrap. Was the burnt section saved for further investigation?

All the Swissair 111 wreckage, as far as I know, was sold for scrap as there was no need to retain any of the pieces. However, key items, including all those in the burnt area, were extensively photographed.

2. Some whistleblower books changed the names of principal characters. Did you ever consider doing this for Twice as Far?

No, I never considered changing their names, especially since there is a need to expose those I believe to be guilty of serious criminal offences. Many of the individuals referred to in the book are listed in the actual documents that are present on the book’s website at www.swissair111.ca.

The TSB member who unlawfully forced the alteration of Dr. Brown’s official federal government report has yet to be exposed, as well as all those in Ottawa who supported the illegal actions of the RCMP’s commissioners. What they did was in character with a Third World police state.

The RCMP’s management have reviewed my material over the past years and they are fully aware of the accuracy of the allegations in my book. However, the Department of Justice seems reluctant to proceed on the matter as it would be most embarrassing if such prominent officials were ever charged criminally.

3. Canadian media covered the crash but had less interest in the investigation. Did our journalists drop the ball with Swissair Flight 111?

When the TSB released their final report, it pointed to an entertainment system wire as the probable cause. The media asked why it had taken so long. From the start, their armchair experts-for-hire had expressed their opinion that this was the cause.

The media had solved the case, so they thought.

Later, what can only be called a clumsy and inept RCMP report was created to show the media that my complaint of 2011 had been fully investigated. In it, the RCMP publicly stated that it was legitimate policy to control what their investigators recorded in their file notes, and they could alter any notes that did not conform to the supervisor’s requirements.

The media never questioned this; they had created the news and these results simply confirmed their beliefs. However, the details that I have revealed in the book of the behind-the-scenes activities of the TSB and the RCMP completely discredit those reports and show that they lied to the Canadian and international public by way of the media.

The media seems not to realize that these agencies excel in controlling what is released for public consumption. By controlling each media release, it became easy to manipulate the final TSB report. Now that this book reveals the complete details there is no excuse, other than the possibility that journalists might feel embarrassed for having been misled by the RCMP and the TSB.

4. Early in the Swissair Flight 111 investigation, Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda were identified as possible suspects. Do you believe a proper criminal investigation of the crash might have prevented the attacks of 9/11?

In November of 2000, Dr. Brown’s official federal government report was received by the TSB. He was one of the most knowledgeable molecular scientists in this country, and his report stated that a criminal act had caused the fire. This was nine-and-a-half months before Sept. 11, 2001.

Should the RCMP have warned the Americans about what we had found on Swissair 111? Of course, as that is what friends, neighbours and allies are for. We are supposed to exchange information such as this to ensure that we are all safe and secure. That certainly did not happen in this instance.

Could those attacks have been prevented? That would have depended upon the Americans and how they reacted to the information.

I don’t know if my previous managers in the RCMP and the TSB can sleep at night because of this conscious failure on their part. Now it is time to hold them all accountable for their failures, and it is up to the media and the public to demand answers to the questions of why this investigation was such a major failure.

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