David Burke

 VICTIMS: 43

Poor David Burke was a man who felt persecuted. He had been fired from his job with Pacific Southwest Airlines for what he thought of as nothing. Unfortunately for him the airline considered the theft of thousands of dollars from alcohol sales as more than nothing. He was also being investigated because of the belief that he was using his position with the airline to help Cocaine smugglers get into the country more easily.

And now David Burke was gunning for revenge. And he blamed one man for his problems, Raymond Thompson.

On December 7, 1987, Burke decided it was time to be revenged. He booked himself onto a flight that he knew Raymond Thompson would be on. He did little packing for the trip though, all he had was his .44 Magnum handgun.

As the plane was midway through the trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco, it mysteriously went down, crashing in the San Luis Obispo. When investigators saw the name of Burke on the flight they immediately became suspicious, as Burke was known to be very pissed off at the airline.

During the search of the wreckage they found a .44 Magnum and six spent shells. These were found in what remained of the cockpit. It seemed that Burke had killed the pilots, along with the flight supervisor Thompson. Near to this wreckage was found a part of a note to Thompson. It read, "Hi Ray, I think it's rather ironical that we ended up like this. I asked for some leniency for my family, remember? Well I got none, and you will get none." When the black box flight recorder was discovered there was quite clearly the sounds of gunshots in the background.

It would seem that Burke was very successful in his revenge. After his death a suicide note was found in which Burke said that he was hoping to kill Thompson.

A Very Amusing Fact
David Burke was allowed to walk onto the plane with his gun, unchecked, because the security guards decided not to search him. They thought he was an okay guy, and it wasn't worth the time to check him as they did every other passenger.
 

MY OPINION

David Burke would have to have pulled of one of the best acts of revenge ever. His case is so similar to so many of the last fifteen years it's amazing. The use of a plane as the place to carry out his revenge was a great idea, cos who can get away on a plane. But again, Burke is largely unknown, especially when compared to others of the same ilk like Sherril, McIlvane and Harris. Another killer who deserves more recognition for his deeds.