A Ticking Time Bomb
Airlines and the FAA abdicate their responsibilities - again.
Federal Deputy Shot by 4 Police Officers in Florida
The news cycle moves so quickly that you might not have noticed a story that was in and out of the news within 24 hours, just about a month ago. On Wednesday, Aug 10, a long-time pilot and airline employee named Lane Caviness raised a handgun and then an AR-15 to four police officers who all promptly shot him before he could fire. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
This is of course a horrible story for all involved, but the nature of Mr. Caviness’s responsibilities at a major American airline put many other lives in his hands as he sat in the cockpit, so we must try and understand how someone in a position of authority with a responsibility towards the safety of citizens was driven to such a place that culminated in violence, and his own death.
Lane Caviness, FFDO
Lane Caviness was employed as a pilot by Atlas Airlines up until his death at age 48. In recent years he was also authorized as an FFDO - Federal Flight Deck Officer. As an FFDO, he was deputized by the federal government to carry a weapon on aircraft, for the purpose of ensuring public safety on flights, and had recently had that authorization renewed. Presumably, that should indicate that he was deemed to be an emotionally stable individual, who can responsibly secure the safety of passengers in flight.
Unfortunately, what transpired over the last chapter of his life tells a very different story. Lane was involved with a subgroup of the US Freedom Flyers, representing the Atlas employee group, whose goal is to push back against the vaccine mandates that were rolled out across the industry. Lane was named as an individual in a lawsuit against Atlas Air, alongside the US Freedom Flyers and 150 Atlas coworkers. Some of his former colleagues were willing to discuss their experiences with him, so we can try and understand why a pilot who seemed to have passion and drive in this global fight for freedom would suddenly snap and trigger a series of events that ended his life.
Former Colleagues Sounded the Alarm
While most of his former coworkers preferred to remain anonymous, two brave women named Ms. Sharolyn Stanley and Ms. Maureen Steele were willing to speak on the record, and what they had to report was confirmed by multiple other people in their industry. Ms. Stanley is an LPC - Licensed Professional Counselor - who had been working as a flight attendant for Atlas Airlines while Lane Caviness was working as a pilot and licensed as an FFDO. Ms. Steele was the PR and media manager for the law firm that represented Atlas Freedom Flyers in their case against the airline.
When Covid-19 first arrived, Ms. Stanley had been working at United Airlines. When United Airlines instituted a mask policy that was so draconian, that the employees were told they’d be fired if their mask slipped, she decided to leave the company, and go work for Atlas Airlines. Once the mandates started hitting full force, Ms. Stanley was involved with US Freedom Flyers and the Atlas employee group, which launched a successful campaign that resulted in 160 vaccine exemption requests being granted. The Atlas employee group is where Ms. Stanley initially met Lane Caviness, and they worked closely together for a while without any issues. That changed on Jan 27 of this year, when Atlas announced a new company-wide Covid vaccine policy.
Ms. Steele and Ms. Stanley worked closely with Lane over the last year, and both women described a shocking and abusive environment that began at the end of January, that each experienced independently of the other. They continuously attempted to bring their concerns to the attention of anyone who had a level of control over Lane. Between the two of them, they submitted multiple official notices of complaint with the law firm, Atlas Airlines, and the FAA. All of the notices detailed the extent of Lane’s inappropriate behavior and speech towards themselves and others, and the notices clearly warned that the situation had the potential to end in disaster. While thankfully no one else was hurt, their warnings proved to be correct.
Mandates Reinstated - A Turning Point
On Jan 27, Atlas Airlines decided that although the vaccine mandate attempted by OSHA was overruled, and the federal mandate was stayed, they announced a new company policy that is still in place today. They made the decision to rescind all religious vaccine exemptions that had been previously granted, and anyone not vaccinated by April 30, 2022 would be placed on indefinite, unpaid leave the next day.
They eventually relented and on 3/29/2022, Atlas let their employees know that no one with an exemption would be placed on unpaid leave, however, a lawsuit was filed in the United District Court for the Southern District of Florida on May 12, 2022, on behalf of US Freedom Flyers, Lane Caviness and the Atlas employee group, including Ms Stanley.
While this new policy was obviously upsetting for all involved in the freedom flyer movement, this development appeared to have triggered an overly exaggerated reaction from Lane Caviness. He became verbally abusive towards many of his co-workers in the Atlas group, bullying anyone who questioned him in regard to actions the group was taking to address threats from Atlas Airlines and their vaccine policy.
Ms. Stanley was personally bullied by Caviness in a chat group for litigants and threatened in texts. She also received texts threatening other coworkers, with an added disrespect for female coworkers. She witnessed him making irrational and impulsive decisions, bullying anyone who questioned him, and removing people from the lawsuit group who raised reasonable concerns. He created a lot of tension within the freedom flyer group and insisted on doing media appearances against the advice of the legal team. At this point, Caviness was formally expelled from the US Freedom Flyers.
In June 2022, Ms. Stanley notified their lead attorney that Lane Caviness, who had been appointed team leader, was “out of control” and a “ticking time bomb”. She warned the attorney that Caviness was making bad judgment calls, bullying, behaving inappropriately, and disrespecting her on a personal level. After receiving no response from the attorney, Ms. Stanley forwarded that notice to Atlas Airlines, and to their credit, they opened an investigation into the matter, yet his death preceded any public outcome.
A representative from Atlas responded immediately upon receiving Ms. Stanley’s email and set up a meeting with Atlas representatives to discuss the issues regarding Lane and herself. During this meeting, Ms. Stanley was asked for her professional opinion as a licensed counselor. She informed them that she couldn’t give an official opinion as he was not her patient, but pointed out that as a pilot and a Federal Flight Deck Officer, Lane Caviness had many lives in his hands and sat at the helm of a Boeing 747 aircraft, one of the world’s largest aircraft. There were a number of disturbing behaviors with Lane that prompted her to notify Atlas. Among her concerns was that his interaction with females and other employees under his authority could potentially trigger him and impact safety. She witnessed him lose control over his emotions when challenges arose, and that’s clearly not acceptable for a pilot or FFDO. To note, Ms. Stanley filed a complaint with the FAA as well in June, as did at least one of her coworkers. After their conversation, Ms. Stanley was relieved that an authority figure appeared to be taking the situation seriously, receiving notice that the investigation had been completed the Friday before Mr. Caviness’s death. Ms. Stanley is only aware of the completion of the investigation and not the outcome.
Meanwhile, over at the law firm that represented the Atlas group, Ms. Maureen Steele was on the receiving end of similar behavior coming from Lane. Ms. Steele filed complaints about his abusive behavior with her employer, John Pierce Law, reported his illegal drug use with the FAA, and ultimately left her job due in part to a lack of action regarding this issue, and a progressively worsening situation.
Criminal Charges
To add to the story that was told by Ms. Stanley and Ms. Steele, a basic background check into Lane Caviness brings up multiple criminal charges with guilty verdicts, including driving while intoxicated with a minor in the car, and illegal weapons charges.
Several former colleagues report that he was taking three steroids that were deemed illegal per FAA medical rules, and even encouraged other employees to take them as well. One of his fellow pilots documented that exchange in text messages, as well as other threatening messages he received from Lane. The side effects of the three drugs that Lane told his co-workers he was using include impulse control issues, aggression, violent behaviors, and suicidal thoughts. Without passing judgment on what possessed Caviness to ultimately end his life in such a tragic manner, ultimately it’s clear that he was suffering and crying out for help.
The only people in a position to help him were warned repeatedly by those he was abusing, and yet they did nothing. The reports filed against him showing proof of verbal abuse, illegal steroid use, and guilty criminal charges should have been more than enough necessary to minimally suspend his pilot and FFDO license for an investigation. Even with two known FAA complaints filed addressing serious concerns, according to friends and coworkers, his FFDO license was renewed ONE WEEK before he died, according to Lanes friends and coworkers.
Liability
Yet again we find ourselves asking the question - who is liable for the risk that Lane Cavaniss posed to himself, his coworkers, and his passengers? Of course, Mr. Cavaniss bears responsibility for his own behavior, however, there are multiple layers of the complex aviation system that are solely focused on public safety.
Where was Atlas Airlines? Where was the FAA? The people who surrounded Lane had no control over whether he walked into the cockpit or not, the only thing they could do was sound an alarm, which is exactly what many of them did. The only people who held the power to actually prevent Lane from boarding an aircraft with a weapon, or flying a plane full of passengers were those who outranked Lane at the airlines and those at the FAA who were notified of Lane’s erratic behavior multiple times. Yet he kept his license to fly, and TSA still renewed his FFDO license one week before his death, without proper due diligence into multiple open complaints and investigations.
Atlas Airlines also bears some responsibility for fostering an environment of such tension and putting so much pressure on its employees to receive experimental medical treatments even after the federal government was forced to rescind its vaccine mandate, and the employees had requested religious exemptions. The pressure of that decision by Atlas Airlines was a noticeable trigger for Lane’s downfall and eventual death.
Will the airlines or the FAA face any sort of consequence for their actions? Would they have if Lane’s violent ending would have occurred on an aircraft? Will they get a stern talking to or a strongly worded letter? When will any of the individuals at the corporations that pressured their employees with an impossible choice face consequences for the chain of events that triggered, not only with Lane but with millions around the world?
Demand Accountability
Our institutions are in desperate need of a grassroots overhaul, and that will never happen if the rot that’s overtaken them isn’t exposed. We as citizens have tools at our disposal that previous generations couldn’t have imagined in their wildest dreams. We have the opportunity and the reach to expose the people who have assumed responsibility for our safety, yet fail to ensure it.
What kind of role did the immense pressure that the airlines put on their employees play in Lane’s saga? After all, the day the airlines re-instituted their vaccine mandate, even for those who had been previously exempt was a clear turning point in the way Lane behaved towards those around him.
We don’t have all these answers, but it’s time that those who represent us begin asking these questions from those who do.
Note: For a comprehensive overview and background on the issue of aviation and vaccines/mandates, please check out these articles from earlier this year:
Another federal program devoid of action by lazy employees and officials. FAA bears responsibility for this tragedy along with Lane. They take action over a stupid mask and an unnecessary jab, but can’t be bothered to investigate and act quickly to a truly dire situation. Atlas Airlines is as complicit as FAA.
I also had a breakdown over this, the dissonance and the anger over how most are taking all this laying down, blind to the deaths and careful destruction...but luckily for me I have much less responsibility and would never take pharmaceuticals of any kind. Had covid 11-2019 and recovered, unjabbed. Sorry he had to go down that way, but better then than up in the sky with a plane full of people. Peace.