Warnings Unheeded

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)