John Nance - 16 Souls

“I… ah… I work in the central control building and coordinate the various

ground equipment.” His somewhat nasal voice betrayed a southern origin.

“Does that include snow plows during winter storms?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Were you on duty the night of January 21 st, when the crash of Regal Air 12 occurred?”

“I was on that night, but… I finished my shift and was relieved before the accident.”

“How long before the accident?”

“Ah… about thirty minutes.”

“What was the situation from your work perspective that night?”

“Well, we had had everyone deployed trying to keep the airport open, and we were slowly being overwhelmed, so I was constantly moving the plows and supervisors around. It was decided we would abandon everything except Runway Seven, but we had to leave the last two thousand feet unplowed because we didn’t have time with the inbound emergency to do the whole thing one last time.”

“So, you removed the plows from Runway Seven?”

“I was gone by then.”

“Please explain what you mean by ‘gone,’” Judith asked.

Jantzen looked nervously around the room, catching the judge’s eye as well, as he sat fidgeting in the witness chair, leaning over the microphone and looking at it repeatedly as if worried it might bite him.

“Well, my supervisor told me the battle was over and I should clock out and get home if I could. You know, because the snow was just incredible. So I got my parka and scraped the snow drift off my car, and… it was so beautiful out there, and frankly I was so exhausted, I just wanted to sit and veg for a while, you know?”

“What did you do then?” she asked.

“Well… I… you gotta understand, the entire airport other than Runway Seven was closed down. They had turned the lights off and the instrument landing system off on Runway Three Six Right, and there was too much ramp traffic around where our parking lot is, so… so I drove over to find a safe place to just park and watch the snow.”

“Where, exactly, did you go?”

“I have a little GPS with the runway diagram? Since you couldn’t tell any more where the concrete and grass come together, I just followed the gps out on one of the closed runways, because it was wide enough I wasn’t running the risk of driving off the side, you know?”

“Mr. Jantzen, did you have an aviation frequency radio in your car, or anything with which to monitor the control tower or talk to them?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Was it required that anyone driving on the runways or taxiways be in two-way radio contact with the tower?”

Jantzen looked down, nodding, his head continuing to bob as he looked up at her.

“Yes, ma’am, when the airport runways and such are open. I mean, they were closed, so I didn’t think I needed to be in contact.”

“Are you authorized to drive airport equipment on the airside areas with a radio?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m trained.”

“But not in your personal vehicle?”

“No, because I don’t have a radio, but, see, there’s no way I would ever have driven my car over there if the airport had been operating.”

“Why did you choose Runway Three Six Right?”

“Because we had lost control of the snow on that runway later in the evening, and I knew the drifts wouldn’t be too high to drive in.”

Judith paced back for a moment, taking in Marty’s wide-eyed expression of disbelief as he put together the meaning of the words Jantzen had just spoken. Grant Richardson’s face was also broadcasting massive dynamic tension as he tried to find something to object to.

“Was it exciting to you, being in the middle of the runway?”

“A little.”

Richardson was already standing. “Objection. Relevance.”

“Sustained.”

“Mr. Jantzen, once you drove onto the surface of Runway Three Six Right, what did you do?”

“I parked. I turned around to the south facing the way I had just come in, ‘cause I figured if I saw my tracks disappear it would be time to go.”

“And then what did you do?”

“I turned up the heat, turned on a CD I had… Jimmy Buffet, you know… to counter the winter. And then I lit a joint. I mean, it is Colorado. It’s not illegal. And I was just trying to unwind from a really intense day.”

“So, you were relaxing and smoking and listening to music. What kind of car were you in?”

“My Chevy Tahoe.”

“What color is it?”

“Kind of a yellow.”

“Does it have a roof rack?”

“Ah, no ma’am.”

“Was the engine running?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And were the headlights on?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Had you driven out there with the headlights on?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Why not?”

“Well… the snow was still coming down… and I was following the GPS…”

“Could you see the terminal from where you were on Runway Three Six Right?”

“Yes… barely.”

“So, if you had used your headlights, someone might have seen you?”

Finally, Richardson was on his feet. “Objection! Calls for a conclusion.”

Judge Gonzales broke his gaze from the witness and moved it to the DA, a scowl on his face at having been interrupted.

“Overruled.”

“But, Your Honor, there’s no foundation for this testimony. We don’t have a clue where this is going!”

“Well, if you’ll stop objecting, maybe we could find out. In fact, there is a foundation. Sit!” The judge looked back at the witness. “You may continue, Mr. Jantzen.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll rephrase the question,” Judith said, keeping her expression devoid of the smile she desperately wanted to display. “Tell me all the reasons you kept the headlights off when driving onto Runway Three Six Right?”

“Well… as I said… I was really driving by the GPS and didn’t need to see ahead, but I guess I also didn’t want anyone worried about why I was out there.”

“So, you did not want anyone seeing that you were on the runway?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Did you… at any point in time once you had parked and turned on your music, did you turn on your headlights?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“When and why?”

Jantzen took a deep breath and looked down, still doing his uncomfortable dance around the microphone before looking up.

“Lights suddenly came on. Landing lights. In my face! I mean, the runway was closed, and suddenly I’ve got what looked like a big airplane coming right at me!”

“What did you do?”

“I panicked! I was fumbling for the headlight switch, y’know, and I was trying to put the car in gear at the same time and figure out where to run to and finally I got the headlights on but I’d forgotten the parking brake and the car wouldn’t move and suddenly this thing goes right over my head and rocks the car, and when he’s passed me, I finally figured out the damned parking brake was still on, and I got it off and got the hell out of there.”

Marty had come forward in his chair at the defense table, his heart pounding. This was his corroboration! Those headlights had not been a figment of his imagination, or some sort of manufactured or trauma-induced memory. Even though Ryan had not seen or remembered headlights for the brief time they were in view, they had really been there.

“You left the runway then?” Judith was asking.

“Yes,” Jantzen said. “…and the airport, as quietly as I could. I mean, I was shaking scared, and then all the emergency equipment starts rolling past me with sirens and lights everywhere and I had no idea…”

The young man looked up, tears now streaming down his face. “I… I had no idea there had been a crash, and that same plane that was going to land on Runway Seven had crashed right over me!”