Thomas Baron
Thomas Ronald "Tom" Baron ( 1938 – 27 April 1967) was a quality control and safety inspector for North American Aviation (NAA), when it was the primary contractor to build the Apollo command module. Biography. Baron was born in Wilkes-Barre. and attended Liberty High School, Bethlehem. Baron was initially employed by the US air force, and stationed at Eglin Air Force Base. He was later hired as a quality control inspector with North American Aviation, the prime NASA contractor for construction of the Apollo spaceship. Baron's report. Baron compiled a 169-page report critical of safety standards at  North American Aviation, and leaked his report to the media. After NAA learned of this, they fired him. After the Apollo 1 fire Baron wrote a 275-page report on NASA safety protocol violations, which he gave to Rep. Olin E. Teague's investigation at Cape Kennedy, Florida, on April 21, 1967. The chairman of the NASA Oversight Committee claimed that Baron had made a valuable contribution to the Apollo fire probe, but that he had been "overzealous". Death. Six days after his testimony, Baron was killed instantly, along with his wife and stepdaughter, when a train crashed into their  car near their home in Florida. Baron's death, which was witnessed by a woman, was later ruled as an accident, with no suspicion of foul play.