Raw Story: New details emerge on Connell's mysterious plane crash & death.

[99th_Monkey]

I'm glad to see Raw Story continuing to investigate Connell's mysterious death-by-plane-crash. There's nothing particularly
damning here, just a suspicious "lock-down" of info, as-yet unconfirmed "warnings" Connell had received to "not fly his plane",
and several aborted flights previous to the one resulting in his death.

Kudos to RawStory for their continuing investigation on this. :thumbsup:

******************************************************************
New information sheds more light on GOP IT guru's tragic death
Larisa Alexandrovna
Published: Tuesday January 13, 2009

New information surrounding the December plane crash which killed GOP internet consultant Michael Connell casts doubt on some of the rumors and speculation surrounding his death but doesn't close the books on the circumstances surrounding the Republican technology star's tragic end.

Michael Connell, a high-level IT guru for the Republican National Committee and the US Chamber of Commerce, died Dec. 19, 2008 at 5:53 PM ET when his airplane crashed near Ohio’s Akron-Canton airport.

Although there has been speculation in the media about the possibility of sabotage in Connell death, authorities do not suspect foul play. The official investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has not yet determined the cause of the crash; their final report is required to be produced within a year. **snip**

Information "Lockdown" – Details Withheld from Fire Department
Capt. Geisner expressed considerable frustration during several Raw Story interviews over what he alleges was the withholding of critical details by authorities.

"While en route to the fire, I asked dispatch to learn the size of the plane and the number of souls on board," Geisner explained. “This was not provided us." **snip**

Raw Story visited Summit Aviation Dec. 24 and located the wreckage, which was being held in a building without gated security or security camera surveillance. NTSB officials had examined the wreckage the day before. Last week, Summit Aviation said that Connell's insurance company had arranged for the transport of the plane to another longer term facility. **snip**

Allegations Relating to two Previous Flights
Since Connell’s tragic death, much confusion has resulted in speculation and erroneous reporting relating to two previously aborted flights.

On Dec. 21, for example, Channel 19, a local CBS affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio reported that an anonymous source had warned Connell not to fly and that two separate flights had been canceled

"Connell," the reporter said, "was apparently told by a close friend not to fly his plane because his plane might be sabotaged. ... And twice in the last two months, Connell, who is an experienced pilot, canceled two flights because of suspicious problems with his plane." **snip**

One Aborted Flight Confirmed
On Sept. 18, 2008, just a day before a stay was lifted in the King Lincoln Bronzeville Neighborhood Association v. Blackwell case - which alleged vote tampering in Ohio during the 2004 election - Connell embarked on a flight from the Akron-Canton airport. According to flight data obtained by Raw Story, he was heading to the College Park, MD airport, which he often used when attending meetings and functions in DC.

Connell’s trip lasted only 23 minutes before he turned around and returned to the Akron-Canton airport. **snip**

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Foul_play_not_suspected_in_GOP_0113.html

[lala_rawraw]

1. on the warnings not to fly...

it is the opposite ... we were not able to confirm that warnings not to fly take place... and we tried. anyway though thanks for posting:)

[GardeningGal]

2. It seems odd to me that the fire department was unable to get

information on number of passengers, etc. when asked. It also seemed like airport officials got there very quickly since it didn't happen on airport property.

[lala_rawraw]

4. not just one fire dept either, but two...

were unable to get that information... but we don't know why, as airport and ATC were told not to talk to the press

[99th_Monkey]

12. wonder why all the secrecy if there's nothing to hide.

:shrug:

[99th_Monkey]

11. Thanks for posting ... I did a little edit to correct same, thanx to your catching it

before my time to edit had expired. :-)

[lala_rawraw]

13. thx for posting it:)

[jimlup]

3. NTSB says foul play not suspected...

:rofl:

[certainot]

19. NTSB head is bush/nixon guy and they never investigate as if

sabotage is a possibility. anyone waiting for that- good luck. blame it on the pilot.

[lala_rawraw]

5. i really

cannot figure where Chan. 19 got that 2 canceled flights on the grounds of warnings by a friend... but we do know at least one, Sept. 18 was an aborted trip due to engine trouble. i think the timing is interesting, given that on Sept. 19, the stay was lifted in the case. but it may mean nothing. i think all of the disinfo or misinfo needs to be debunked, so that we can get to the nitty gritty of what happened.

[emlev]

15. What do you see as poss. connection w/ lifting of stay?

I couldn't quite figure that out from the article.
Thanks very very much for staying on this story.

[lala_rawraw]

27. i cannot speculate

i find the dates interesting because of their proximity, but i really cannot speculate (in public) as to what it means or might mean

[wildbilln864]

16. who was the friend? why was he warning him?

what was the engine trouble? Who was the mechanic that fixed it and what does he say about the problem?
Who said not to talk to the press about it? :shrug:

[lala_rawraw]

23. here

we never found the friend who talked to Channel 19 who is alleged to have warned him. that is the in the article. we could not confirm Channel 19's allegations

so you will need to ask them.

Mrs. Connell did not know what the engine trouble was. She just said there was engine troubles is all she knew.

we could not locate the mechanic for that issue, although we talked to one who had worked on the plane in the past.


the FAA told ACT not talk to the press.

[wildbilln864]

24. thank you.

And thanks for not letting it go. :patriot:

[lala_rawraw]

26. anytime... can you guys digg it?

the article that is? it is being buried alive... all 3000k words, and 4 pictures

[wildbilln864]

33. absolutely. dugg it #35. nt

[troubleinwinter]

34. Have you been able to obtain the contents

of the 'Declaration of Brett Kimberlin' that was submitted to the court by Attny Arnebeck claiming information on threats made against Connell?

[robertpaulsen]

6. K & R! Thanks for staying on top of this, Larisa!

:kick:

:patriot:

[lala_rawraw]

10. anytime my friend:)

[deaniac21]

7. Same people that got Wellstone.

[Trillo]

8. All those "lost" emails. /nt

[Joe Chi Minh]

9. On past form, one poster on here will say they were all down to bad weather.

[bleever]

14. More good work.

K&R.

[Jambalaya]

17. Rendezvous with who???

I have YET to come across ANY info,either from his wife or others who have stated just who or whom Connell had met with in D.C., prior to his fatal crash. Does anybody have any further info about this? Thanks.

[99th_Monkey]

21. ***crickets**** oh well ...

great question though. Interesting IMO that such "a no brainer" seems to be still so conspicuously missing from
any of the "official accounts" of how this all came down.

[lala_rawraw]

28. his clients...

the next question is who were his clients...well, that is the nugget, is it not? to determine who he met with? i agree

[defendandprotect]

18. Too much coincidence -- again --!!!

[emlev]

20. My fave comment so far on this article is at RawStory.com

"The plane’s right wing clipped a flagpole."

There is some major symbolism here....

[99th_Monkey]

22. hmmmm. I'll need to think awhile about that one.

I'll get back to you.

Nice observation on the symbolism. :-)

[chill_wind]

25. Nice catch........ n/t

[we can do it]

29. Thanks for Posting This -

[certainot]

30. here's a link to an NTSB report of a crash suggested as sabotage, for

people who might want to see a 'similar' crash report. similarities? there was witness that reported loud engine noise. unstable approach, etc.

bar harbor flight 1808 is referenced in wikipedia

http://amelia.db.erau.edu/reports/ntsb/aar/AAR86-06.pdf

[Raster]

31. have the conspiracy smearists shown up yet? You know, the small but vocal gang on DU

that makes sure any discussion of potential conspiracies is shut down immediately.

[lala_rawraw]

32. what surprises me

is that they show up when no conspiracy has been reported... to ask questions is not to declare a conspiracy theory and to assume no conspiracies exist is just as insane as assuming everything is a conspiracy. in short, not yet, but i await the smearmongers... because they love to hijack threads, don't they?