Airframe

by Michael Crichton

Chapter 17

  They're calling the N-22 a deathtrap. "

  "Oh dear," Fuller said. "That's very unfortunate. "

  "Yes, it is," Marder said. "I brought you in because I want to know what I can do about it. "

  "Do about it?" Fuller said, frowning.

  "Yes," Marder said. "We feel Newsline is being crudely sensationalistic. We regard their story as uninformed, and prejudicial to our product. We believe they are deliberately and recklessly defaming us. "

  "I see. "

  "So," Marder said. "What can we do? Can we prevent them from running the story?'

  "No. "

  "Can we get a court injunction barring them?"

  "No. That's prior restraint. And from a publicity standpoint, it's ill advised. "

  "You mean it'd look bad. "

  "An attempt to muzzle the press? Violate the First Amendment? That would suggest you have something to hide. "

  "In other words," Marder said, "they can run the story, and we are powerless to stop them. "

  "Yes. "

  "Okay. But I think Newsline's information is inaccurate and biased. Can we demand they give equal time to our evidence?"

  "No," Fuller said. "The fairness doctrine, which included the equal-time provision, was scrapped under Reagan. Television news programs are under no obligation to present all sides of an issue. "

  "So they can say anything they want? No matter how unbalanced?"

  "That's right. "

  "That doesn't seem proper. "

  "It's the law," Fuller said, with a shrug.

  "Okay," Marder said. "Now, this program is going to air at a very sensitive moment for our company. Adverse publicity may very well cost us the China sale. "

  "Yes, it might. "

  "Suppose we lost business as a result of their show. If we can demonstrate that Newsline presented an erroneous view - and we told them it was erroneous - can we sue them for damages?"

  "As a practical matter, no. We would probably have to show they proceeded with 'reckless disregard' for the facts known to them. Historically, that has been extremely difficult to prove. "

  "So Newsline is not liable for damages?"

  "No. "

  "They can say whatever they want, and if they put us out of business, it's our tough luck?"

  "That's correct. "

  "Is there any restraint at all on what they say?"

  "Well. " Fuller shifted in the chair. "If they falsely portrayed the company, they might be liable. But in this instance, we have a lawsuit brought by an attorney for a passenger on 545.

  So Newsline is able to say they're just reporting the facts: that an attorney has made the following accusations about us. "

  "I understand," Marder said. "But a claim filed in a court has limited publicity. Newsline is going to present these crazy claims to forty million viewers. And at the same time, they'll automatically validate the claims, simply by repeating them on television. The damage to us comes from their exposure, not from the original claims. "

  "I take your point," Fuller said. "But the law doesn't see it that way. Newsline has the right to report a lawsuit. "

  "Newsline has no responsibility to independently assess the legal claims being made, no matter how outrageous? If the lawyer said, for example, that we employed child molesters, Newsline could still report that, with no liability to themselves?"

  "Correct. "

  "Let's say we go to trial and win. It's clear that Newsline presented an erroneous view of our product, based on the attorney's allegations, which have been thrown out of court. Is Newsline obligated to retract the statements they made to forty million viewers?"

  "No. They have no such obligation. "

  "Why not?"

  "Newsline can decide what's newsworthy. If they think the outcome of the trial is not newsworthy, they don't have to report it. It's their call. "

  "And meanwhile, the company is bankrupt," Marder said. "Thirty thousand employees lose their jobs, houses, health benefits, and start new careers at Burger King. And another fifty thousand lose their jobs, when our suppliers go belly up in Georgia, Ohio, Texas, and Connecticut. All those fine people who've devoted their lives working to design, build, and support the best airframe in the business get a firm handshake and a swift kick in the butt. Is that how it works?"

  Fuller shrugged. "That's how the system works. Yes. "

  "I'd say the system sucks. "

  "The system is the system," Fuller said.

  Marder glanced at Casey, then turned back to Fuller. "Now Ed," he said. "This situation sounds very lopsided. We make a superb product, and all the objective measures of its performance demonstrate that it's safe and reliable. We've spent years developing and testing it. We've got an irrefutable track record. But you're saying a television crew can come in, hang around a day or two, and trash our product on national TV. And when they do, they have no responsibility for their acts, and we have no way to recover damages. "

  Fuller nodded.

  "Pretty lopsided," Marder said.

  Fuller cleared his throat. "Well, it wasn't always that way. But for the last thirty years, since Sullivan in 1964, the First Amendment has been invoked in defamation cases. Now the press has a lot more breathing room. "

  "Including room for abuse," Marder said.

  Fuller shrugged. "Press abuse is an old complaint," he said. "Just a few years after the First Amendment was passed, Thomas Jefferson complained about how inaccurate the press was, how unfair - "

  "But Ed," Marder said. "We're not talking about two hundred years ago. And we're not talking about a few nasty editorials in colonial newspapers. We're talking about a television show with compelling images that goes instantaneously to forty, fifty million people - a sizable percentage of the whole country - and murders our reputation. Murders it. Unjustifiably. That's the situation we're talking about here. So," Marder said, "what do you advise us to do, Ed?"

  "Well. " Fuller cleared his throat again. "I always advise my clients to tell the truth. "

  "That's fine, Ed. That's sound counsel. But what do we doT

  "It would be best," he said, "if you were prepared to explain what occurred on Flight 545. "

  "It happened four days ago. We don't have a finding yet. " Fuller said, "It would be best if you did. "

  After Fuller had left, Marder turned to Casey. He didn't say anything. He just looked at her.

  Casey stood there for a moment. She understood what Marder and the lawyer were doing. It had been a very effective performance. But the lawyer was also right, she thought. It would be best if they could tell the truth, and explain the flight. As she listened to him, she had begun to think that somehow she might find a way to tell the truth - or enough of the truth - to make this work. There were enough loose ends, enough uncertainties, that she might pull them together to form a coherent story.

  "All right, John," she said. "I'll do the interview. " "Excellent," Marder said, smiling and rubbing his hands together. "I knew you'd do the right thing, Casey. Newsline has scheduled a slot at four P. M. tomorrow. Meantime I want you to work briefly with a media consultant, someone from outside the company - " "John," she said. "I'll do it my way. " "She's a very nice woman, and - " "I'm sorry," Casey said. "I don't have time. " "She can help you, Casey. Give you a few pointers. " "John," she said. "I have work to do. " And she left the room.

  DIGITAL DATA CENTER

  6:15 P. M.

  She had not promised to say what Marder wanted her to say; she had only promised to do the interview. She had less than twenty-four hours to make significant progress in the investigation. She was not so foolish as to imagine she could determine what had happened in that time. But she could find something to tell the reporter.

  There were still many dangling leads: the possible problem with the locking pin. The possible problem with the proximity sensor. The possible interview with the first officer in Vancouver. The videotap
e at Video Imaging. The translation Ellen Fong was doing. The fact that the slats had deployed, but had been stowed immediately afterward - what exactly did that mean?

  Still so much to check.

  "I know you need the data," Rob Wong said, spinning in his chair. "I know, believe me. " He was in the Digital Display Room, in front of the screens filled with data. "But what do you expect me to do?"

  "Rob," Casey said. "The slats deployed. I have to know why - and what else happened on the flight. I can't figure it out without the flight recorder data. "

  "In that case," Wong said, "you better face the facts. We've been recalibrating all the one hundred and twenty hours of data. The first ninety-seven hours are okay. The last twenty-three hours are anomalous. "

  "I'm only interested in the last three hours. "

  "I understand," Wong said. "But to recalibrate those three hours, we have to go back to where the bus blew, and work forward. We have to calibrate twenty-three hours of data. And it's taking us about two minutes a frame to recalibrate. "

  She frowned. "What are you telling me?" But she was already calculating it in her head.

  'Two minutes a frame means it'll take us sixty-five weeks. "

  "That's more than a year!"

  "Working twenty-four hours a day. Real world, it'd take us three years to generate the data. "

  "Rob, we need this now. "

  "It just can't be done, Casey. You're going to have to work this without the FDR. I'm sorry, Casey. That's the way it is. "

  She called Accounting. "Is Ellen Fong there?"

  "She didn't come in today. She said she was working at home. "

  "Do you have her number?"

  "Sure," the woman said. "But she won't be there. She had to go to a formal dinner. Some charity thing with her husband. "

  'Tell her I called," Casey said.

  She called Video Imaging in Glendale, the company that was working on the videotape for her. She asked for Scott Harmon. "Scott's gone for the day. He'll be in at nine tomorrow morning. "

  She called Steve Nieto, the Fizer in Vancouver, and got his secretary. "Steve's not here," she said. "He had to leave early. But I know he wanted to talk to you. He said he had bad news. "

  Casey sighed. That seemed to be the only kind of news she was getting. "Can you reach him?"

  "Not until tomorrow. " "Tell him I called. "

  Her cell phone rang.

  "Jesus, that Benson is unpleasant," Richman said. "What's his problem? I thought he was going to hit me. "

  "Where are your

  "At the office. Want me to come to you?"

  "No," Casey said. "It's after six. You're done for today. "

  "But - "

  "See you tomorrow, Bob. "

  She hung up.

  On the way out of Hangar 5, she saw the electrical crews rigging TPA 545 for the CET that night. The entire aircraft had been raised ten feet into the air, and now rested on heavy blue metal fixtures beneath each wing, and fore and aft on the fuselage. The crews had then slung black safety webbing beneath the underside of the aircraft, some twenty feet above the ground. All along the fuselage, doors and accessory panels were open, and electricians standing on the webbing were running cables from the junction boxes back to the main CET test console, a six-foot square box that was placed in the center of the floor to one side of the aircraft.

  The Cycle Electrical Test, as it was known, consisted of sending electrical impulses to all parts of the aircraft's electrical system. In rapid succession, every component was tested - everything from cabin lights to reading lights, cockpit display panels, engine ignition, and landing-gear wheels. The full test cycle ran two hours. It would be repeated a dozen times, throughout the night

  As she passed the console, she saw Teddy Rawley. He gave her a wave, but didn't approach her. He was busy; undoubtedly he'd heard that Flight Test was scheduled three days from now, and he would want to be sure the electrical test was performed correctly.

  She waved to Teddy, but he had already turned away. Casey headed back to her office.

  Outside, it was growing dark, the sky a deep blue. She walked back toward Administration, hearing the distant rush of take-offs from Burbank airport. On the way, she saw Amos Peters, shuffling toward his car, carrying a stack of papers under his arm. He looked back and saw her.

  "Hey, Casey. "

  "Hi, Amos. "

  He dropped his papers with a thud on the roof of his car, bent to unlock the door. "I hear they're putting the screws to you. "

  "Yeah. " She was not surprised he knew. The whole plant probably knew by now. It was one of the first things she had learned at Norton. Everyone knew everything, minutes after it happened.

  "You going to do the interview?"

  "I said I would. "

  "You going to say what they want you to say?"

  She shrugged.

  "Don't get high and mighty," he said. "These are television people. They're beneath pond scum on the evolutionary scale. Just lie. Hell with it"

  "We'll see. "

  He sighed. "You're old enough to know how it works," he said. "You going home now?"

  "Not for a while. "

  "I wouldn't be hanging around the plant at night Casey. "

  "Why not?"

  "People are upset" Amos said. "Next few days, it'd be better to go home early. You know what I mean?"

  "I'll bear it in mind. "

  "Do that Casey. I mean it"

  He got in his car, and drove off.

  QA

  7:20 P. M.

  Norma was gone. The QA office was deserted. The cleaning crews had already started in the back offices; she heard a tinny portable radio playing "Run Baby Run. "

  Casey went to the coffeemaker, poured a cup of cold coffee, and took it into her own office. She flicked on the lights, stared at the stack of papers waiting on her desk.

  She sat down and tried not to be discouraged by the way things were going. She had twenty hours until the interview, and her leads were falling apart

  Just lie. Hell with it.

  She sighed. Maybe Amos was right

  She stared at the papers, pushing aside the picture of John Chang and his smiling family. She didn't know what to do, except go through the papers. And check.

  She again came to the charts of the flight plan. Again, they teased her. She remembered she had had an idea, just before Marder called her the night before. She had a feeling . . . but what was it?

  Whatever it was, it was gone now. She set the flight plan aside, including the General Declaration (Outward/Inward) that had been filed with it which listed the crew:

  John Zhen Chang, Captain 5/7/51 M

  Leu Zan Ping, First Officer 3/11/59 M

  Richard Yong, First Officer 9/9/61 M

  Gerhard Reimann, First Officer 7/23/49 M

  Thomas Chang, First Officer 6/29/70 M

  Henri Marchand, Engineer 4/25/69 M

  Robert Sheng, Engineer 6/13/62 M

  Harriet Chang, Flight Attendant 5/12/77 F

  Linda Ching, Flight Attendant 5/18/76 F

  Nancy Morley, Flight Attendant 7/19/75 F

  Kay Liang, Flight Attendant 6/4/67 F

  John White, Flight Attendant 1/30/70 M

  M. V. Chang, Flight Attendant 4/1/77 F

  Sha Van Hao, Flight Attendant 3/13/73 F

  Y. Jiao, Flight Attendant 11/18/76 F

  Harriet King, Flight Attendant 10/10/75 F

  B. Choi, Flight Attendant 11/18/76 F

  Yee Chang, Flight Attendant 1/8/74 F

  She paused, sipped the cold coffee. There was something odd about this list she thought. But she couldn't put her finger on it

  She set the list aside.

  Next a transcript of communications from Southern California Air Traffic Approach Control. As usual it was printed without punctuation, the transmission to 545 intermixed with transmi
ssions to several other aircraft:

  0543:12 UAH198 three six five ground thirty five thousand

  0543:17 USA2585 on frequency again changed radios sorry about that

  0543:15 ATAC one nine eight copy

  0543:19 AAL001 fuel remaining four two zero one

  0543:22 ATAC copy that two five eight five no problem we have you now

  0543:23 TPA545 this is transpacific five four five we have an emergency

  0543:26 ATAC affirmative zero zero one

  0543:29 ATAC go ahead five four five

  0543:31 TPA545 request priority clearance for emergency landing in los angeles

  0543:32 AAL001 down to twenty nine thousand

  0543:35 ATAC okay five four five understand you request priority clearance to land

  0543:40 TPA545 affirmative

  0543:41 ATAC say the nature of your emergency

  0543:42 UAH 198 three two one ground thirty two thousand

  0543:55 AALOOl holding two six nine

  0544:05 TPA545 we have a passenger emergency we need ambulances on the ground i would say thirty or forty ambulances maybe more

  0544:10 ATAC tpa five four five say again are you asking for forty ambulances

  0544:27 UAH 198 turn one two four point niner

  0544:35 TPA545 affirmative we encountered severe turbulence during flight we have injuries of passengers and flight crew

  0544:48 ATAC copy one nine eight good day

  0544:50 ATAC transpacific i copy your ground request for forty ambulances

  0544:52 UAH198 thank you

  Casey puzzled over the exchanges. Because they suggested very erratic behavior by the pilot.

  For example, the Transpacific incident had occurred shortly after five in the morning. At that time, the plane was still in radio contact with Honolulu ARINC. With so many injuries, the captain could have reported an emergency to Honolulu.

  But he hadn't done that.

  Why not?

  Instead, the pilot continued to Los Angeles. And he had waited until he was about to land before reporting an emergency.

  Why had he waited so long?

  And why would he say the incident had been caused by turbulence? He knew that wasn't true. The captain had told the stewardess the slats deployed. And she knew, from Ziegler's audio, that the slats had deployed. So why hadn't the pilot announced it? Why lie to approach control?

  Everyone agreed John Chang was a good pilot. So what was the explanation for his behavior? Was he in shock? Even the best pilots sometimes behaved oddly in a crisis. But there seemed to be a pattern here - almost a plan. She looked ahead:

  0544:59 ATAC do you need medical personnel too what is the nature of the injuries you are bringing in

  0545:10 TPA545 i am not sure

  0545:20 ATAC can you give us an estimate

  0545:30 TPA545 i am sorry no an estimate is not possible

  0545:32 AALOOl two one two niner clear

  0545:35 ATAC is anyone unconscious

  0545:40 TPA545 no i do not think so but two are dead

  The captain seemed to report the fatalities as an afterthought. What was really going on?

  0545:43 ATAC copy zero zero one

  0545:51 ATAC tpa five four five what is the condition of your aircraft

  0545:58 TPA545 we have damage to the passenger cabin minor damage only

  Casey thought, Minor damage only? That cabin had sustained millions of dollars of damage. Hadn't the captain gone back to look for himself? Did he not know the extent of the damage? Why would he say what he did?

  0546:12 ATAC what is the condition of the flight deck

  0546:22 TPA545 flight deck is operational fdau is nominal

  0546:31 ATAC copy that five four five what is the condition of your flight crew

  0546:38 TPA545 captain and first officer in good condition

  At that moment one of the first officers had been covered in blood. Again, did the pilot not know? She glanced at the rest of the transcript, then pushed it aside. She'd show it to Felix tomorrow, and get his opinion.

  She went on, looking through the Structure Reports, the Interior Cabin Reports, the relevant PMA records for the counterfeit slats locking pin and the counterfeit thruster cowl. Steadily, patiently, she worked on into the night

  It was after ten o'clock when she again turned to the faults printout from Flight 545. She had been hoping she could skip this, and use the flight recorder data instead. But now there was nothing to do but slog through it.

  Yawning, tired, she stared at the columns of numbers on the first page:

  A/S PWR TEST 00000010000

  AIL SERVO COMP 00001001000

  AOA INV 10200010001

  CFDS SENS FAIL 00000010000

  CRZ CMD MON INV 10000020100

  EL SERVO COMP 00000000010

  EPR/N1 TRA-1 00000010000

  FMS SPEED INV 00000040000

  . PRESS ALT INV 00000030000

  G/S SPEED ANG 00000010000

  SLAT XSIT T/O 00000000000

  G/S DEV INV 00100050001

  GND SPD INV 00000021000

  TAS INV 00001010000

  TAT INV 00000010000

  AUX 1 00000000000

  AUX 2 00000000000

  AUX 3 00000000000

  AUX COA 01000000000

  A/S ROX-P 00000010000

  RDR PROX-1 00001001000

  AOA BTA 10200000001

  FDS RG 00000010000

  F-CMD MON 10000020100

  She didn't want to do this. She hadn't eaten dinner yet, and she knew she should eat. Anyway, the only questions she had about these fault listings were the AUX readings. She had asked Ron, and he had said the first was the auxiliary power unit, the second and third were unused, and the fourth, AUX COA, was a customer installed line. But there wasn't anything on those lines, Ron said, because a zero reading was normal. It was the default reading.

  So she was really finished with this listing.

  She was done.