"I said," Casey replied, "that those tapes create an inaccurate perception of the danger of air travel."
"Including the danger of the N-22?"
"I've already said I think the N-22 is safe."
"So you don't think such tapes should be shown to the public."
What the hell was he doing? She still couldn't figure it out. She didn't answer him; she was thinking hard. Trying to see where he was going with this. She had a sinking feeling she knew.
"In your view, Ms. Singleton, should such tapes be suppressed?"
"No," Casey said.
"They should not be suppressed."
"No."
"Has Norton Aircraft ever suppressed any tapes?"
Uh-oh, she thought She was trying to figure out how many people knew of the tape. A lot, she decided: Ellen Fong, Ziegler, the people at Video Imaging. Maybe a dozen people, maybe more…
"Ms. Singleton," Reardon said, "are you personally aware of any other tape of this accident?"
Just lie, Amos had said.
"Yes," she said. "I know of another tape."
"And have you seen the tape?"
"I have."
Reardon said, "It's upsetting. Horrifying. Isn't it?'
She thought: They have it. They'd gotten the tape. She would have to proceed very carefully now.
"It's tragic," Casey said. "What happened on Flight 545 is a tragedy." She felt tired. Her shoulders ached from tension.
"Ms. Singleton, let me put it to you directly: Did Norton Aircraft suppress this tape?"
"No-Eyebrows up, the look of surprise. "But you certainly didn't release it, did you."
"No."
"Why not?"
"That tape was found on the aircraft," Casey said, "and is being used in our ongoing investigation. We didn't feel it appropriate to release it until our investigation is completed."
"You weren't covering up the well-known defects of the N-22?"
"No."
"Not everyone agrees with you about that, Ms. Singleton. Because Newsline obtained a copy of that tape, from a conscience-stricken Norton employee who felt that the company was covering up. Who felt the tape should be made public."
Casey held herself rigid. She didn't move.
"Are you surprised?" Reardon said, his lips in a curl.
She didn't answer. Her mind was spinning. She had to plan her next move.
Reardon was smirking, a patronizing smile. Enjoying the moment.
Now.
"Have you yourself actually seen this tape, Mr. Reardon?" She asked the question in a tone that implied the tape didn't exist, that Reardon was making it all up.
"Oh yes," Reardon said solemnly, "I have seen the tape. It's
difficult, painful to watch. It is a terrible, damning record of what happened on that N-22 aircraft."
"You've seen it all the way through?"
"Of course. So have my associates in New York."
So it had already gone to New York, she thought.
Careful.
Careful.
"Ms. Singleton, was Norton ever planning to release that taper
"It's not ours to release. We'd return it to the owners, after the investigation was completed. It would be up to the owners to decide what to do with it."
"After the investigation was completed…" Reardon was shaking his head. "Forgive me, but for a company you say is committed to flight safety, there seems to be a consistent pattern of cover-ups here."
"Cover-ups?"
"Ms. Singleton, if there was a problem with the airplane-a serious problem, an ongoing problem, a problem the company knew about-would you tell us?"
"But there is no problem."
"Isn't there?' Reardon was looking down now, at the papers in front of him. "If the N-22 is really as safe as you say, Ms. Singleton, then how do you explain this?"
And he handed her a sheet of paper.
She took it, glanced at the paper.
"Jesus Christ," she said.
Reardon had his media moment. He had gotten her unguarded, off-balance reaction. She knew it would look bad. She knew there was no way for her to recover from it, no matter what she said from this point on. But she was focused on the paper in front of her, stunned to see it now.
It was a Xerox of the cover sheet of a report done three years ago.
–
norton aircraft
internal review action committee
executive summary
And following was a list of the names of the committee members. Beginning with her name, since she had chaired the committee.
Casey knew that there was nothing improper about the study, nothing improper in its findings. But everything about it, even the name-"Unstable Flight Characteristics"- appeared damning. It was going to be very difficult for her to explain.
He's not interested in information.
And this was an internal company report, she thought. It should never have been released. It was three years old-not that many people would even remember it existed. How had Reardon gotten it?
She glanced at the top of the page, saw a fax number, and the name of the sending station: NORTON QA.
It had come from her own office.
How?
Who had done it?
Richman, she thought, grimly.
Richman had placed this report in the packet of press material on her desk. The material Casey had told Norma to fax to Newsline.
How had Richman known about it?
Marder.
Marder knew all about the study. Marder had been program manager on the N-22; he'd ordered it. And now Marder had arranged for the study to be released while she was on television, because-
"Ms. Singleton?" Reardon said.
She looked up. Back into the lights. "Yes." "Do you recognize this report?" "Yes, I do," she said.
"Is that your own name at the bottom?"
"Yes."
Reardon handed her three other sheets, the rest of the executive summary. "In fact, you were the chairman of a secret committee inside Norton that investigated 'flight instabilities' of the N-22. Isn't that right?"
How was she going to do this? she thought.
He's not interested in information.
"It wasn't a secret," she said. 'It's the kind of study we frequently conduct on operational aspects of our aircraft, once they're in service."
"By your own admission, it's a study of flight instabilities."
"Look," she said, "this study is a good thing."
"A good thing?" Eyebrows up, astonished.
"Yes," she said. "After the first slats incident four years ago, there was a question about whether the aircraft had unstable handling characteristics, in certain configurations. We didn't avoid that question. We didn't ignore it. We addressed it head-on-by forming a committee, to test the aircraft in various conditions, and see if it were true. And we concluded-"
"Let me read," Reardon said, "from your own report. "The aircraft relies upon computers for basic stabilization.'"
"Yes," she said. "All modern aircraft use-"
'"The aircraft has demonstrated marked sensitivity to manual handling during attitude change!'"
Casey was looking at the pages now. Following his quotes. "Yes, but if you'll read the rest of the sentence, you will-"
Reardon cut in: " 'Pilots have reported the aircraft cannot be controlled.'"
"But you're taking all this out of context"
"Am I?" Eyebrows up. "These are all statements from your report. A secret Norton report."