ABSTRACT
The Goodrich Brake case is one of the most well-known in the literature of whistleblowing. According to Kermit Vandivier, an employee who blew the whistle, Goodrich produced a dangerous brake for a military aircraft and covered up its inadequacies with falsified test data. A serious accident during flight testing forced Goodrich to redesign the brake and led to Congressional hearings where the whole story was brought to light. The Goodrich Brake Case was originally published in Harper's Magazine. In that article Vandivier describes how Goodrich received a contract from Ling-Temco-Vought to build a four-rotor brake for the Air Force A7-D light attack plane. The only independent evidence in print for testing Vandivier's claims is the transcript of testimony given at the Congressional hearing. Because the brakes were supplied for a military aircraft, the matter came before the Joint Economic Committee of the Congress which was chaired by Senator William Proxmire.
