This is shaping up to be the year of the whistle-blower at the Federal Aviation Administration.
So far, 32 men and women have stepped forward with concerns about safety issues — nearly triple the number for all of 2007.
The FAA has responded by implementing new systems for reporting safety issues, and it says the situation underscores that the agency has dedicated workers who put public safety first. But the agency also has been accused of looking the other way when supervisors retaliated against those who spoke out — potentially ruining a whistle-blower's career.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91428378
You can listen. It's a great (and sad, disconcerting) story.