arthur ernest "ernie" fitzgerald (july 31, 1926 – january 31, 2019) was an american engineer. he was born in birmingham, alabama. he was a member of the senior executive service in the united states air force. he was well known as a u.s. government whistleblower. in 1968, fitzgerald reported a $2.3 billion cost overrun in the lockheed c-5 aircraft program. as a result, he was fired by secretary melvin laird under the orders of president richard nixon.