Scott had agreed to take the stand as well to verify the yellow paint in the groove in the 757’s tire, and Grant Richardson had apparently given up fighting the point, permitting the presentation to go forward without a real objection. It was that reaction that further worried Judith. Was he just giving up, or more likely, was he preparing to convince the jury that none of that mattered?
CHAPTER FORTY
Present Day — September 14 — Day Seven of the trial
Courtroom 5D, Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse, Denver
Aside from the very real possibility that his exclusive story about William Jantzen and the crash of Regal 12 might result in the offer of a full-time position with the Post, Scott Bogosian realized he had developed a proprietary attachment to the trial of Captain Mitchell. Try as he might to avoid taking sides, he was sliding into Mitchell’s camp and developing a serious dislike for the district attorney. Treating an inadvertent airline tragedy as a criminal act was, to him at least, patently ridiculous.
Scott sat now in the gallery of the courtroom, watching preparations for what might be one of the last days of the trial as Grant Richardson got to his feet to re-call Captain Mitchell to the stand.
It had been a shock, Scott recalled, to see the airline captain in full uniform on the first day of the proceedings. He had thought it pretentious at first, but now the idea that Marty Mitchell the man could be separated from Captain Mitchell, the pilot in command of Regal 12, made little sense. In effect, they were trying the captain of a ship, not an individual, and that was the pivot point for the furious response of most airline people.
Marty adjusted himself in the witness chair again, feeling far more settled than he expected as the enemy walked toward him.
“Captain Mitchell, I just have a few followup questions,” Richardson began, an unctuous smile on his face.
Rather like an open-mouthed rattlesnake getting ready to strike, Marty thought. The image was amusing and also somewhat calming.
“Why, Mr. Mitchell, did you abort the landing on Runway 7?”
Judith was on her feet.
“Objection. Asked and answered.”
“Sustained,” the judge replied.
Richardson was unfazed.
“Very well, let me ask it this way. Is it true, Mr. Mitchell, that a primary reason you elected to abort the landing on Runway Seven was because of your concern over the combination of a two hundred and thirty knot landing speed against the useable length of that runway and with consideration of the severe drop-off at the eastern end?”
“That was… those were major considerations, yes.”
“Were you worried about damaging the airplane?”
“I don’t understand the question.”
“Well, was your primary concern about the speed and the length and the drop-off that if things didn’t go just right, the airplane might be damaged? Was that your primary concern?”
“Of course not.”
“A yes or no will suffice.”
“No.”
“Very well. Was your primary concern in aborting the landing on Runway Seven the safety of your passengers, including the people on your right wing?”
“Yes.”
“Did you then decide to land on Runway Three Six Right because it would run a lower risk of injury to your passengers, including the sixteen on the right wing?”
“Yes.”
“The primary component of your concern… the reason this wouldn’t be a normal landing… was the excessive airspeed?”
“Well, I was trying not to kill the people on the right wing.”
“Understood, Mr. Mitchell, but…”
“Objection, Your Honor,” Judith interjected. “May we have a sidebar and approach?”
Richardson shrugged and the judge motioned them forward.
“Go ahead, Ms. Winston.”
“Judge, there is a level of purposeful disrespect for the witness in refusing to address him by his title of ‘captain.’ This trial, and the charges leveled by this district attorney, wholly concern his official conduct as a captain, and Mr. Richardson’s tactic of addressing him as ‘mister’ is a calculated ploy to negatively influence the jury by heaping scorn on the witness. I move that the court forbid it.”
“Judge,” Richardson answered, shaking his head, “Mr. Mitchell is a citizen like all of us. His rank is not military, nor governmental, such as would be the case if he were an ambassador or senator statutorily entitled to the use of a title. ‘captain’ is merely a commercial title. Indeed, even the FAA does not use the term ‘captain,’ they use ‘pilot in command.’ He is not charged with a crime his airline committed, he is charged with personally committing a crime. Ms. Winston’s motion should be denied.”
Gonzales sighed and rolled his eyes. “Counselors, this amounts to squabbling and I don’t appreciate squabbles in my court. But, Ms. Winston is correct. Mr. Richardson, have you ever used the suffix “esq” after your name to designate that you’re a lawyer?”
“Ah… yes, Your Honor, but what does…”
“So have I, and that is not a statutorily imposed requirement. You will address Captain Mitchell as Captain Mitchell, because this action is inextricably intertwined with the essence of this professional position. Proceed.”
“Captain Mitchell, is it true that with or without the fuselage on your right wing, the primary element which made any landing more risky was the excessive airspeed of two hundred thirty knots?”
“Yes.”
“And you chose Runway Three Six Right to lessen the detrimental effect of that airspeed?”
“Yes.”
“Could you guarantee that even on Runway Three Six Right that excessive airspeed would not magnify, or make far more lethal, anything else that might go wrong?”
“No.”
“So, whether there was a car in front of you on Three Six Right or not, the excessive speed put everyone at greater risk?”
“Technically, yes.”
“Wasn’t the excessive speed the essence of what Mr. Butterfield and your airline were trying to warn you about?”
“Yes, for Runway Seven.”
“But, you just stated, did you not, that it was the excessive speed that would be a problem for any runway?”
“It would raise the risk.”
“For instance, it could cause tires to explode.”
“Well, the tires are good to two hundred twenty-five knots and this was a cold surface, so, no, the tires were not a problem.”
“But if anything went wrong, excessive speed raises the risks.”
“Yes.”
“And you said the risk you were worried about was not the risk of damaging the aircraft, but the risk of hurting someone, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Including the risk of killing someone?”
“Yes.”
“And although you speculated and were using your best guesswork, you in fact had no way of knowing at what speed or angle of attack you might lose the fuselage of Mountaineer Twenty-Six Twelve, correct?”
“That’s correct.”
“So, therefore, you could not guarantee that slowing to a normal approach speed would or would not result in the loss of anyone in the Beech fuselage, correct?”
“No, but I had to use my best judgment that it would.”
“But you didn’t know for an aerodynamic and structural certainty, did you?”
“No.”
“And approaching Runway Seven and then deciding to land on runway Three Six Right were volitional decisions?”