This type of activity can happen anywhere, trust me!
I was sabotaged twice (actually one could say three time as you’ll see below) in my career. In both incidences it was on Boeing 727 when I was flying for the United States Marshal Service.
First time: First takeoff from home base. As I started takeoff roll the co-pilot called that the number 3 engine EPR was off scale high. Ok, we had just started to roll, no big deal. We taxied back and as one of the other 2 72’s was not scheduled to fly that day we just switched aircraft. About as hour later we try it again, different airplane, same call, same engine. Not Ok. To make a long story short there was a worm in EPR probe in the first airplane and cut rivet head in EPR probe on the second engine. Figure the odds on that.
About a week later the second incident happened: Again on first takeoff from home base; as I rotated the artificial horizon information on BOTH flight directors failed. Fortunately the weather was clear and I made a visual return and landing. When maintenance came out to the airplane we discovered that both gyro boxes in the E&E compartment had been left unsecured and when I rotated the airplane the gyros had slid out of the racks.
We never did find out who did these things, however the company (which shall remain nameless) that had the maintenance contract had just been notified that their contract had been cancelled just before the above incidences. The worst thing all of this was that we had to put up with FBI (we called them Famous But Ignorant) for about two months.
