Flight 232: A Story of Disaster and Survival (58 page)

“After impact, I made my way”
: Hayes 1989, pp. 28–39.

startling number of people who were thrown out of the plane
: Bendixen; Gary Brown; Clapper; Nielsen; Olivier; Owens; Palmer; Walker. Also, Zahren, Bill, 1989, “Fax Helps Father’s Injuries Heal,”
Sioux City Journal
, July 30, p. A:16:3.

In the moments immediately after the crash, the control tower was quiet
: Bates; Gochenour; Mleynek; Norton; Zielezinski; FAA tower tapes provided by Mleynek and Lindblade.

“Sam says he’s got survivors out there”
: Mleynek, Zielezinski.

Air National Guard nurse named Pam Christianson
: Dee, Emily, 1990,
Souls on Board
(Freeman, SD: Loess Hills Press; Sioux City, IA, Pine Hill Press), p. 89.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Wandering around inside the McDonnell Douglas plant
: Personal visit to McDonnell Douglas, December 1979.

It had taken twenty million hours
: NTSB Transcript, p. 815.

Charles Burgess was the last member of
Titanic’
s crew
: Lord, Walter (1955), 1987,
A Night to Remember
(Holt, Reinhart & Winston; reprint, Mattituck, NY: Amereon House), p. 169 (citation from American edition).

270,000 parts
: Hornburg, Robert, senior engineer, DC-10, McDonnell Douglas, pers. comm., December 1979.

“I had to put her on the floor”
: Michaelson, Lori, interviewed by KTIV, Channel 4, Sioux City, July 19, 1990.

Gerald Harlon “Gerry” Dobson, forty-six
: Ayers and Associated Press, 1989, “Crash of Flight 232 Claims 112th Victim,”
Sioux City Journal
, August 21, p. A:1:1.

His wife Joann and their companions
: Diegel (undated), Exhibit 6-Z, p. 2 and seating charts.

Dobson couldn’t talk but was able to communicate
: Quinn, Laura, 1989, “Harlon ‘Gerry’ Dobson, 46; United Plane Crash Victim,”
Philadelphia Inquirer
, August 21, at http://articles.philly.com/1989-08-21/news/26146807_1_plane-crash-victim-state-trooper-bob-dobson (accessed September 25, 2013).

Shen would likely have been killed
: Jan Brown; Shen.

Nurses and specialists who happened to be visiting
: Quinlan, John, 1989, “Scores of Siouxland Nurses Show Up to Care for Injured,”
Sioux City Journal
, July 25, p. A:22:1.

She returned to St. Luke’s to find a young man
: Ayers and Diegel (undated), Exhibit 6-Z, p. 21 and seating charts.

Jan Brown wound up
: Jan Brown; Murray.

Joan Wernick, Dr. Banjo’s wife
: Joan Wernick.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

At one or two o’clock on the morning
: Scene reconstructed using Benzon; Gary Brown; Hilldrup; Lopatkiewicz; MacIntosh; Swetnam.

stately edifice on a bluff
: Personal visit to Briar Cliff University (formerly College), July 16, 2012.

Mark Zielezinski, still in the control tower
: Zielezinski.

Leo Miller, the Sheriff of Woodbury County
: Lindblade 1989.

In the hours after the crash, Chaplain Clapper
: Clapper; Clapper 1999.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

moon was still up
: Scene reconstructed using Benzon; MacIntosh. Also, NTSB Transcript, pp. 198–201.

Daniel Murphy, the postmaster
: Gunsolley, Bob, 1989, “Flight 232’s Mail Survives Nearly Unscathed,”
Sioux City Journal
, August 2, p. A:1:1.

Wizniak, who was seventy-eight years old
: Scene reconstructed using Benzon; MacIntosh; Wizniak. Also, NTSB Transcript, pp. 198–209, 265; Wizniak, Ed, 1989,
Powerplants Group Chairman’s Factual Report of Investigation
, October 10, Exhibit 8-A.

Even as late as the Saturday after the crash
: “United Experts Unable to Answer Pilot Pleas,” 1989,
Omaha World-Herald
, July 22, p. 1.

John Moehring took charge
: NTSB Transcript, pp. 258–260.

Christopher Glynn
: NTSB Transcript, pp. 365–366.

searchers found three of the twenty nuts
: Wildey, James F., 1989,
Metallurgist’s Factual Report 89-117
, October 13, Exhibit 15-C, p. 2; GE Comments, p. 108.

At about six o’clock on the evening of the crash
: DeJong; Filippi; Herbek; Randall; Lindblade 1989.

“Conventional wisdom suggested”
: Randall, Brad, 1991, “Body Retrieval and Morgue Operations at the Crash of United Flight 232,”
Journal of Forensic Sciences
, March, pp. 403–409.

“First there was a reference point”
: Randall.

the guardsmen, squatting on the painted concrete floor
: Herbek; photographs.

Gary Brown began to realize
: Gary Brown and Lindblade 1989.

Randall explained that if an accident such as this
: Information about the National Disaster Medical System from Filippi; Herbek; Randall; U.S. Government website at http://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/responders/ndms/teams/Pages/dmort.aspx (accessed December 15, 2012).

Once a body was ready to be moved
: DeJong; Filippi; Herbek; Randall.

first person, given the number
1
: White boards; “Cause of Death for MEN, by age, from crash of United Flight 232, on 7-19-89” (undated, unpaginated draft autopsy report), provided by Bendixen. Also, Diegel (undated), Exhibit 6-Z, p. 27.

“Two cranes were connected to the remaining landing gear”
: Monserrate, Robert, and Dennis Chapman, 1990, “The Crash of United Flight 232: The Use of Forensic Personnel in the Collection and Identification of the Victims, the Psychological Aftermath, and Recommendations,” presented at International Symposium on the Forensic Aspects of Mass Disasters and Crime Scene Reconstruction, FBI Academy, Quantico, VA, June 23–29.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

On February 24, 1989, United Airlines had enjoyed
: Doughty; NTSB Aircraft Accident Report AAR-92/02, “Explosive Decompression, Loss of Cargo Door in Flight, United Airlines Flight 811, Boeing 747-122, N4713U, Honolulu, Hawaii, February 24, 1989,” adopted March 18, 1992, available at www.ntsb.gov. Also, Reinhold, Robert, 1989, “Aboard Flight 811: Passengers’ Routine Dissolves into Terror,”
New York Times
, February 26, at http://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/26/us/aboard-flight-811-passengers-routine-dissolves-into-terror.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm (accessed May 11, 2013).

United Flight 173
: NTSB Aircraft Accident Report AAR-79-7, “United Airlines, Inc., McDonnell-Douglas DC-8-61, N8082U, Portland, Oregon, December 28, 1978,” June 7, 1979, p. 9, available at www.ntsb.gov.

obscure the logos on the wrecked aircraft
: As with most law and custom in aviation, this practice was borrowed from maritime conventions. When the Cunard cruise liner
Carpathia
arrived in New York carrying the survivors of the
Titanic,
along with a number of the sunken ship’s lifeboats, crews from the White Star Line immediately set about sanding out the name
Titanic
from the bows of those boats. Lord (1955), 1987, p. 163.

Some airlines still do this
: “Thai Airways Tries Logo Cover-up after A330-300 Skids Off Runway,” 2013,
The Australian
, September 10, at http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/thai-airways-tries-logo-cover-up-after-a330-300-skids-off-runway/story-e6frg6so-1226715235550 (accessed September 19, 2013).

Jason Henry, a lifeguard
: Scene reconstructed using DeJong; Henry; Herbek; photographs; white boards; Monseratte, Robert, Iowa Department of Public Safety, pers. comm., June–September 2013.Also, Diegel (undated), Exhibit 6-Z.

“We found them together”
: Monseratte, Robert, pers. comm., August 5, 2013.

Kingsbury died of
: Diegel (undated), Exhibit 6-Z, p. 26.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

MacIntosh and Benzon and Wizniak
: Scene reconstructed using Benzon; Hilldrup; MacIntosh; Wizniak; Hilldrup, Frank, 1989,
Structures Group Chairman’s Factual Report
, October 10, Exhibit 7-A; Levy, Laura, 1989,
Laser Transit Group Chairman’s Factual Report of Investigation
, September 14, Exhibit 7-B; Phillips, Greg, 1989,
Systems Group Chairman’s Factual Report of Investigation
, September 15, Exhibit 9-A.

In November of 1973
: File no. 1-0043, NTSB Aircraft Accident Report AAR-75-2, 1975, “Aircraft Accident Report, National Airlines, Inc. DC-10-10, N60NA near Albuquerque, New Mexico, November 3, 1973,” January 15, p. 12, available at www.ntsb.gov (accessed September 14, 2013).

When the DC-10 was being designed
: AAR-90/06, p. 62; FAA Advisory Circular 25.1309-1, September 7, 1982, at http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/advisory_circulars/index.cfm/go/document.information/documentID/788801 (accessed September 19, 2013).

“a failure condition”
: NTSB Transcript, p. 764.

one in a billion
: NTSB Transcript, p. 764; FAA Advisory Circular 25.1309-1, p. 5.

was already known at that time
: AAR-90/06, p. 68.

“Probable malfunctions must have only”
: Starlof, William C., 1970, “Special Conditions for McDonnell Douglas Corporation Model DC-10 Airplane,” memorandum issued in Washington, D.C., January 15, p. 5, A39915-ADD6.tif, p. 16.

Captain D. B. Robinson of the Air Line Pilots Association
: Letter from Robinson to James L. Kolstad, chairman of the NTSB, October 11, 1990, appended to an undated, unsigned, document entitled “Air Line Pilots Association Analysis and Recommendations Regarding United Flight 232 July 19, 1989, Sioux City, Iowa,” A39915-ADD5.tif, pp. 1441–1444.

In addition, the FAA had recommended shielding hydraulic lines
: GE Comments, p. 70.

Now some two hundred people from various agencies
: Quinlan, John, 1989, “Aerial Search to Resume Today,”
Sioux City Journal
, July 28, p. A:1:1.

“At NTSB hearings”
: Rapoport, David E., and Michael L. Teich, 2011, “The Erosion of Secrecy in Air Disaster Litigation,”
Issues in Aviation Law and Policy
, vol. 10 (no. 2), pp. 231–249.

“The National Transportation Safety Board determines”
: AAR-90/06, p. 102.

Jason Henry, the young lifeguard
: Scene reconstructed using DeJong; Henry; Herbek; photographs; white boards; Monserrate, Robert, pers. comm., June–September 2013; Diegel (undated), Exhibit 6-Z.

“Iowa Examiner Slow but Sure”
: “Iowa Examiner Slow but Sure in Identification of Jet Victims,”
Omaha World-Herald
, 1989, July 22, p. 8.

Robert Monserrate of the DCI
: Monserrate, Robert, pers. comm., July 11, 2013.

J. Kenneth Berkemier
: Lindblade 1989.

“I know that he was very happy to learn”
: Monserrate, Robert, pers. comm., August 6, 2013.

Ellen and Adrienne Badis were on their way home
: Badis; Joan Wernick; Pete Wernick.

“Sure,” said Schemmel
: Schemmel 1996, p. 32.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

John C. Clark, the senior performance engineer
: Scene reconstructed using Benzon; Clark; Hilldrup; MacIntosh; Walker; Wizniak; Clark, John, 1989,
Specialist’s Factual Report on Search for Fan Disk
, September 18, Exhibit 16-A; Clark, John, and Jeremy Akel, 1989,
Specialist’s Factual Report on Recorded Radar Data
, September 18, Exhibit 16-B.

“And within ten minutes”
: NTSB Transcript, p. 218.

they had killed 112
: The NTSB rules state that a person must die within a month to be counted as a fatality from a crash. Dobson was killed by the crash but did not die within that month, so the official death toll was 111.

John Young, an investigator from the NTSB
: Clark; Cookson. Also, Young 1989, Exhibit 11-A.

“their dead letter file”
: NTSB Transcript, p. 635; Associated Press, 1989, “Plane Engine’s Records Examined,”
Sioux City Journal
, July 27, p. A:4:1.

records from that period of time at both ALCOA and GE
: AAR-90/06, pp. 80–83.

seven others passed the tests
: NTSB Transcript, pp. 516–521; AAR-90/06, pp. 51–55.

“Within the very first few days after this event”
: The newspapers reported that the NTSB “recalled” the disks, but that wasn’t the case. See Associated Press, 1989, “NTSB Recalls DC-10 Fan Disc,”
Sioux City Journal
, July 30, p. A:1:5. The disks were returned to GE, per Wildey, James F., 1989.
Metallurgist’s Factual Report 89-115
, October 13, Exhibit 15-A; NTSB Transcript, pp. 260–261.

In the evenings, after MacIntosh had led the daily meeting
: MacIntosh; NTSB Transcript, p. 261.

Bruce Benham, thirty-seven, and his young colleague Garry Priest
: Scene reconstructed using Badis; Benham; Priest; Sheldon; Vetter; Joan Wernick; Pete Wernick; Will Wernick; also, interview of Vetter on
The Today Show
, July 20, 1989.

crash happened on Wednesday, July 19
: Young 1989, Exhibit 11-A;
General Electric Fan Disk Ultrasonic Inspection Records
(undated), Exhibit 11-M;
Ultrasonic Inspection Records. Second Disk Serial Number 00385
(undated), Exhibit 11-N; PB90-910406; AAR-90/06, pp. 41–61.

titanium can change its nature entirely
: Donachie, 1988, pp. 40, 44–46.

Wildey traveled to Evendale to examine the disk
: Rest of this section based on Cherolis; Wildey.

Ellen Badis, with Aaron freshly delivered into her arms
: Scene reconstructed using Badis; Benham; Clapper; Gochenour; Schemmel 1996.

CHAPTER TWENTY

By the first week in August
: Clark; Wizniak; Sanford, Harvey M., 1989, “GE Offers Farmers Rewards for Parts of United Engine,”
Sioux City Journal
, August 8, p. A:10:1; Schossow, Rebecca, 1989, “Reward Doesn’t Encourage Parts Search,”
Sioux City Journal
, August 30, p. A:5:2.