Джозеф Хеллер - Maximum Impact

Lund was the NTSB board member who would oversee the operations of the go-team, without doing any of the hands-on investigative work. That would be under the supervision of the investigator-in-charge, James Padgett, who had gone to work for the NTSB as an accident investigator after retiring as director of safety for the North American operations of Lufthansa. Lund would expedite operations for the go-team, settle any disputes that arose between the NTSB investigators and other parties, including Sexton, Converse, the FAA, the pilots’ union, even Dulles International Airport. And he would conduct the evening press briefings.

Given the negative attitude Lund carried toward the media, Steve Pace held little hope the daily sessions would be easy.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’ll make this brief,” Lund said, standing at the head of the conference table. “There was initially, one survivor from Flight 1117. Unfortunately, his injuries were so severe that he died on the way to the hospital. I’ve been given clearance to identify him as Co-Captain Jeremy Dodds of Long Beach, California. He was taken to Fairfax Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Doctors say he had massive internal injuries, a skull fracture, and two broken legs. With his death, the final toll is 333. There were 321 passengers on board, including two unticketed children. The crew count was twelve. That total unfortunately makes this the worst airline disaster in U.S. history.

“We have no preliminary information on what caused the crash. Of course, as you would expect, our early investigative efforts will focus on the Number Two engine, which is lying separate from but proximate to the outboard two-thirds of the right wing, approximately 180 yards from the main body of the wreckage. I cannot give you any sort of timetable for the release of a complete passenger list. That will depend on how quickly next-of-kin can be notified. I also cannot tell you with certainty when the job of recovering the remains of those on board will be completed, or when the wreckage will be removed from the runway area. The main fuselage section is lying in a somewhat precarious attitude, and it will have to be stabilized before we can permit anyone in there.

“Eventually, the entire aircraft will be moved to ConPac’s Hangar Three. If any of you has questions, they should be directed to Mitch Gabriel, our press officer. I will, until further notice, hold a briefing daily, right here, at 6:30 P.M. Now, if you have questions, I’ll entertain them, although I assure you I have no further information available.”

“What do you mean when you say the fuselage has to be stabilized?” asked Russell Ethrich, aviation writer for The Washington Post.

“The fuselage is rather delicately balanced, and if we start moving weight around inside, either by sending rescue teams in or by carrying remains out, it could shift or roll. With all the debris loose in there, we can’t risk sending anybody in until we shore it up.”

“How long will that take?”

“We’ll be working on it through the night and, hopefully, we’ll have it completed sometime tomorrow morning.”

“That will delay recovery of bodies. Will it also delay release of the passenger list?”

“I don’t know. It could.”

“What if somebody’s alive in there? They could die before help comes.”

“I assure you, no one is alive.”

Justin Smith of The New York Times caught Lund’s eye. “Can y’all tell us how Captain Dodds was recovered? He get out himself, or did somebody have to go in after him?”

“He was recovered by two rescue crews,” Lund said. “It is my information that one, maybe two people entered the flight deck through a breach in the hull, cut Captain Dodds loose from the debris, and brought him out. He was never conscious. That’s all I know.”

“And where were the rescue crews from, sir?”

“I believe there were elements from both Fairfax and Loudoun counties. I don’t know their official designations.”

“Mr. Lund,” shouted a reporter from the New York Post, “can you characterize the condition of the bodies? Are they going to be difficult to identify?”

Lund looked revulsed. “I am not a forensic pathologist,” he snapped. “I have no idea what the answer to that question is.” He looked away before the Post reporter could follow up and recognized Pace. Although Lund and Pace had had their differences over the years, Pace supposed Lund found even the Chronicle reporter preferable to the New York Post’s.

“Have you had a chance to look at the right engine yet?”

“Well, we know where it is, as I said. It’s in the grass infield west of runway Nineteen-Right. I believe it’s been given a preliminary inspection by one member of the power-plants group who is already on the scene. The rest, who are all aviation-industry people, will be coming in during the night or early tomorrow morning. I believe the Converse team will be here in the morning as well.”

“Why won’t the Converse people be in tonight?” Pace pressed. “For that matter, why won’t all of your people be in tonight? Isn’t that what a go-team’s all about, a team ready to go instantly when there’s a major accident? The Sexton people are here already.”

“Some of the Sexton people are here, not all of them,” Lund corrected. “A few happened to be in Washington for a congressional hearing and came right out. The rest will be here as soon as possible, I assure you. They’re coming from all over the country.”

The briefing droned on for twenty minutes, but the questions were redundant. Pace listened, not making further notes on subjects already covered. It was only then he realized that Lund had not mentioned the light airplane crushed by the Sexton. Had Lund avoided it because it wasn’t true? Or had he simply forgotten? Pace started to ask but thought better of it. None of the other reporters asked, which probably meant nobody else knew. It could be an exclusive angle.

Pace hung around until the conference room emptied after Lund finally called an end to the questions. Then he approached the NTSB official cautiously.

“Mr. Lund, I’m sorry about this, but I just remembered something that didn’t come up during the briefing,” Pace opened.

Lund glanced at him and continued stuffing papers into his briefcase. “I’m certain a lot of things didn’t come up. The tension in the Middle East, for example.”

Pace smiled, trying to make it look as though he appreciated the lame joke. “That’s not exactly what I meant,” he said, noticing Mitch Gabriel walking over to join them. Maybe he meant to referee. “I was told this afternoon there might have been a second aircraft involved in this accident—not in causing it, but in the aftermath. Is that true?”

Pace thought he saw a look of surprise pass fleetingly over Lund’s face. “I’m not at liberty to discuss matters still under investigation,” he replied curtly.

“I take that to mean you are investigating the possibility?” Pace said.

“You can take it as you please, but that’s all I’m going to say.”

Lund turned abruptly and left the room. Gabriel lingered behind. “Looks like you touched a nerve,” he said.

“Protect me on this, will you, Mitch?” Pace asked.

“You’re the only one who’s brought it up, so I assume you’re the only one who knows—assuming there’s anything to know, of course.”

“Of course,” Pace replied. “Protect me.”

“I’m not going to volunteer it to anybody, but if anybody asks, I’ll have to give them the same answer Lund gave you.”

“That’s good enough,” Pace said.

He headed for his car feeling better than he had all day. Sometimes an exclusive story could do that for you.