Free Fall at Angel Creek, page 14
River flipped through the maintenance write-ups for the previous month. “Wow. This baby had some mileage on her. Lots of write-ups for small stuff, like cabin lights, but also some recurring issues. This plane had chronic problems starting the APU—the auxiliary power unit—and several flight control write-ups.”
“Could that cause them to lose control of the airplane?”
“No. It’s written up that the plane flies crooked, which may mean that the flight controls just needed to be adjusted. It’s another chronic problem, but not bad enough to bring down an airplane.”
“So it sounds like the main airplane problem before the accident was no weather radar, but that alone wouldn’t cause it to blow up. What’s the next most important thing to look at?”
“The aircraft’s modification history. We know it was once a freighter, and then it was converted into a passenger jet. It was modified twelve years ago at a Chinese maintenance facility in Shanghai, and then the plane flew passengers for ten years out of Nairobi, Kenya. Relax Air acquired it two years ago.”
“If this plane was converted from flying freight to flying passengers, wouldn’t the manufacturer do that?”
“McDonnell Douglas could certainly have modified the plane, but it was done in China because it’s cheaper.”
“Really? Doesn’t the FAA check their work?” Dee asked.
“Yes, they do, sort of. I’m familiar with this maintenance facility, and it’s huge. They can overhaul an entire aircraft, or rebuild engines, or modify airframes, but only a few FAA-certified maintenance inspectors oversee the repair work of hundreds of mechanics. How closely is their work supervised? We can only guess. It’s aircraft heavy-maintenance work being outsourced to foreign countries for cheap labor.”
“That doesn’t really inspire confidence. I kind of wish I didn’t know that.”
“Well, this isn’t good.”
“What?”
“We don’t have any maintenance history before it was modified. The history starts when it left the Chinese facility in 2008. This airplane was built in 1985, but the maintenance records go back only twelve years.”
River took out her phone and dialed a number. “Can you connect me to the Maintenance Records table? Thanks.” After a slight pause, she said, “We’re missing the first twenty-five years of this airplane’s life. That’s a big problem, and I need those records immediately.”
* * *
Dee parked, and River got out her backpack of supplies.
“So where do you want to start today?” Dee asked. “Are we looking for anything in particular?”
River put her hands on her hips and scanned the horizon around Angel Creek. “Let’s start downstream and each cover one side of the creek, working our way upstream. I don’t really know what I’m looking for, but there’s something we haven’t found yet.”
“Would it be parts from that big empty space in the middle of the plane?”
River stopped and turned to face her. “What big empty space? Do you mean the forward cargo pit?”
“No, the space on the airplane in front of the fourth landing gear, where no pieces were in place.”
River had a look of concentration. “I’m not picturing it.”
“If you’re standing at the center main landing gear, look toward the nose. On the belly of the plane is an area that appears hollowed out, with no skin sections attached.”
“I must have been focusing on the fourth gear and lightning marks so much that I walked right past it and didn’t notice.”
“Yeah. The floor pieces above it looked like they were bowed out. I thought you saw all that. Otherwise, I would have asked you about it,” Dee said.
“Well, I’ll just have to examine that part of airplane when we get back. Sorry I missed it.”
“I don’t know how you can tell what any of that twisted metal is anyway. I know it’s evidence, but it looks like a scrapyard to me. So I guess the mission today is to try to find something from that missing middle section.”
They walked in silence for a while, with only the sounds of birds singing and the breeze through the pine trees to accompany them. Dee took the opportunity to ask River some non-technical questions.
“Did you say you’ve been struck by lightning when you were flying a plane? What’s that like?”
River stopped walking and a smile came across her lips. She had a very nice smile.
“Let’s sit down for a minute, and I’ll tell you what happened.”
They found some rocks to sit on, in a grassy shaded spot next to the flowing water.
“I was in Saudi Arabia flying a KC-10 air refueling mission one night. We’d had a flawless rendezvous with the AWACS airplane, offloaded one hundred thousand pounds of fuel to them, and were headed back to Riyadh.”
“That’s the plane with the giant Frisbee on top, isn’t it? I saw those in Oklahoma.”
“Yeah. They’re based at Tinker Air Force Base, in Oklahoma City, home of the famous Tinker Burger, which is a fabulous cheeseburger they serve at the snack bar in Base Ops.”
“Did you fly a US Air Force airplane to Oklahoma just so you could have a cheeseburger?”
River laughed at her. “No, but I did get a Tinker Burger every time I went through there.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Back to the lightning story.”
“We were returning to the base, and a big line of thunderstorms was between us and the airport, so I had to fly around them, and it got really turbulent. We were descending through the clouds, and I had just told the copilot to turn on the Fasten Seat Belt sign, when I saw this bright, white flash, felt a big thump, like we’d hit something—then I heard BOOM.”
“Shit. What’d you do?”
“I had everyone check in, since I had crew in the back. Then I checked the engines, which were all good, and scanned the rest of the instruments. The plane appeared to be fine, and just as I was about to make a PA announcement—white flash, big thump, and BOOM again!”
“You got struck by lightning twice?”
“Yes, we did. I determined that we needed to get out of that weather and on the ground immediately. I think my exact words at the time were ‘I need to get the fuck out of this shit, ASAP!’ I threw the gear down, did a screaming-assed descent to the final approach fix, and landed five minutes later.
“After landing, when I went outside to look at the plane, it had only a two-inch hole in the nose cone and a few burn marks on the exterior paint. Maintenance told me the lightning also blew out the weather radar antenna. As I said, it was quite startling at the time.”
“That sounds almost as fun as getting shot at. Glad I wasn’t on your plane that night.”
“Oh, no. What you did in the Middle East was much more dangerous than anything I ever did.”
“Didn’t you have any defensive weapons on your plane?”
“Nothing but harsh language.”
“It sounds like you did some very cool stuff flying the KC-10, River. I bet you loved it.”
“I did, very much.” She grew quiet and stared into the distance. “Well, let’s get back to work.”
It was clear River’s business face was firmly in place again. No more idle chitchat about the past.
Too bad. I would’ve liked to hear more.
Chapter Nineteen
River carefully searched her side of Angel Creek while also keeping an eye on Dee on the other side. She was still irritated with herself for not noticing an entire missing section of the aircraft underside. Fortunately, Dee had seen it and told her about it before she wasted more time running down a dead-end lead.
It was nice taking a break with Dee on the banks of the creek, almost like having a normal conversation with a real person, instead of just shop talk about aircraft accidents. It was fun to tell one of her flying stories to someone who was genuinely interested, even though doing that always made her a little melancholy afterward. Not being able to fly anymore was just another loss in her life, added to the pile of losses already there.
“Hey. I think I found something, in the water.”
River interrupted her pity party and went over to where Dee pointed at rocks in the middle of the creek bed. “Where? I can’t see what you’re looking at.”
Dee took off her boots and socks and waded into the shallow water. “Over here, at the base of this little waterfall, wedged between two rocks.”
“Oh, geez, Dee. Don’t walk into the creek with your bare feet. You might step on some sharp metal in there.”
“I’ll be careful, and thank you for being concerned about my feet.”
Dee gingerly maneuvered across the slippery river rocks to the middle of the creek bed, bent down, and put both hands in the cold water. “I know it’s here. I saw something shiny between these two rocks.”
Dee continued to feel around underwater. “Got you.” She stood up holding her prize. “Here. Check this out.”
River stood on the bank of the creek and extended her arm toward Dee. Instead of giving her the object, Dee took hold of her hand and held it while she waded through the water to River’s side.
“What is this?” Dee asked.
River turned the object over, examining it. “This small section of shiny metal was deformed, either by impact forces, high temperature, or something else. There’s a scorch mark on the underside, and this jagged metal on the end looks like it broke off something. Probably no chemical residue, since it’s been in the water. I don’t know where this goes, and I’m not sure what it is, but it’s definitely from our airplane. Good find, Dee.”
River photographed it, cataloged it in her notepad, marked the spot with a metal stake flag, and plotted its location on her map. They continued searching for about an hour, found nothing, and then River realized she was hungry. “How about we take a break for lunch. I brought sandwiches from the food cart.”
“Great. I’m ready to eat. I’ve worked up an appetite with all this hiking.”
River found a shady spot next to the creek. “I should think this type of hiking would bore you, after your experience as an MP in the army.”
Dee sat down next to her. “True, it’s not too strenuous compared to marching with a forty-five-pound pack, but I haven’t done any hiking in a long time. This is actually kind of nice, walking through the woods with the sound of this creek. I like it here.”
River took a moment to be quiet and look around them. “It is really pretty here. Very peaceful, and I like the sound of the water too.”
“Do you know why they call it Angel Creek?”
River pointed at the top of the small waterfall. “The lady at the Madras airport said it was because of the rock that resembles an angel. Up there, just above the waterfalls where you found that shiny metal piece, you can make out two rocks that look like wings, and the whole rock formation resembles the Angel of Bethesda, in Central Park.”
“That’s in New York City, isn’t it? I’ve heard of it but never seen it in person. It does kind of look like an angel,” Dee said.
“Have you been to the City?”
“Just once, with my friend, Marci, after I got back from my first deployment to the desert.”
“I adore New York City. It’s such a cool place.”
“It kind of overwhelmed me, to tell you the truth. I’d never seen so many people crowded onto the sidewalks and in the subways. Walking by the skyscrapers made me feel like I was at the bottom of a canyon. But we did have fun.”
“My favorite thing to do there is go to Broadway musicals. They’re truly amazing.”
Dee set down her sandwich and stared at River. “I never would have guessed you were a Broadway musical fan.”
“Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
“I should have guessed you were a fan of musicals by the hiking boots and flannel shirt. They do go together, if you’re a gay man.”
River couldn’t help but laugh. She’s funny and quick. I like that. “Okay, so I’m not a gay man, at least not the man part, but I can’t help that I love musicals, and the museums. I love going to all the different ones, especially The Met.”
“The Met?” Dee asked.
“The Metropolitan Museum of Art. They have this sculpture gallery, with giant windows looking out onto Central Park, and a gorgeous, poignant statue of Sappho. It’s a beautiful place to relax, have coffee, and watch the world go by.”
“That sounds like heaven.” Dee became quiet.
“I’ll take you there someday, when this is behind us.” River grasped Dee’s hand. She wanted her to know she wasn’t alone.
“Will this ever be behind me? How did you survive this?”
She took a deep breath. “I told you about my friend, Betty, the nurse in the Iowa National Guard, and Captain Al Haynes, my mentor. They helped me find a reason to live, a purpose for my life. Betty would visit me on drill weekends when I was going through physical therapy, and she helped my dad find a counselor for me. After I was better, Al took me up flying in a little Cessna 150.”
“That’s cool. What’d you think of it?”
“I think Betty probably set this up, but he showed up at my house one Saturday and said, ‘Come on, young lady. We’re going flying.’ He took me out to the local airport, had me follow him as he did the walk-around inspection on the Cessna, then put me in the left seat, cranked the engine, and off we went. He didn’t try to instruct. He just wanted to fly around, kind of low and slow, and he pointed out cool stuff on the ground. We did that, nice and easy, and then he had me fly.
“When I had my left hand on the yoke and my right hand on the throttle, I was in control and wasn’t scared anymore. Flying made sense to me. I felt like I was home, and this was where I wanted to be. He showed me how to land, and then he let me land the plane myself, and I knew I’d be okay. Al encouraged me to complete my private pilot’s license when I was sixteen, and he helped me get accepted to the US Air Force Academy. He pinned on my air force wings and even watched me fly a KC-10 in an air show once. Al and Betty showed me there was life after a plane crash and that I was strong enough to get through it. I survived because I had to, and you’ll survive this too.”
Dee held onto her hand, and together they watched the waters of Angel Creek flow past them.
* * *
It began to rain as they were finishing their sandwiches.
“I think we’ve found as much as we’re going to. Let’s head back,” River said.
They didn’t talk much on the drive to the hangar. Dee had a lot to think about. She appreciated River sharing her story, and it was nice to know someone understood what she was going through, but her situation was different. River didn’t betray and abandon her mother like Dee had abandoned Naomi. No mentor or flying lesson could fix that.
The hangar was buzzing with activity when they returned. River took one of the new packets of test results, and they went over to a table to review them.
“This is very odd,” River said. “These test results don’t show anything.”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s no chemical residue on anything, other than the usual hydrocarbons from oil, fuel, and hydraulic fluid. This would rule out a bomb, or missile, until we find the rest of the missing pieces from the lower center of the plane. But it doesn’t add up. A plane doesn’t just blow up for no reason. Let’s see if there’s anything new on the airplane reconstruction.”
After they walked over to the airframe, Dee could see more progress in the tail section and the wings. But the underside of the plane still had that large void area.
“What’s supposed to be in this part of the plane that’s missing?”
“Hydraulic lines, flight control cables, electrical wires, and the center fuel tank. In the passenger version of a DC-10, there’s also a lower galley, beneath the plane’s main floor,” River said.
“Why is it below the floor?”
“Mainly for space. On long international flights with three hundred passengers, they would need six hundred meals on board, cold-storage in carts, and ovens. A special elevator in the plane let a flight attendant go down to the lower galley, cook the meals, and send them back up to the cabin for the other flight attendants to hand out. It would have water lines and several electrical connections for the chillers and the ovens.”
“Could all that electrical stuff have shorted out and caused the explosion?”
“It’s hard to tell. Without those modification records, we don’t even know if this plane had a lower galley. When it was converted from a cargo plane to a passenger airliner, the Chinese mechanics could have installed a new lower galley here, but we can’t be certain. We need to see the rest of the maintenance history.”
They walked over to the Maintenance Records table, and River asked the records clerk, “Do you have the maintenance records for the airplane before it was modified?”
Dee noticed that he looked flustered. Something was up with him.
“Ah, sorry, Dr. Dawson, but what you have is everything we have so far. We can’t find anything before it was converted. We’re still working with Relax Air to get them to release the records, but they claim they don’t have them. They said they bought the airplane at an auction in Kenya.”
“This is unacceptable.” River’s brow furrowed, and her eyes looked like they could melt steel.
Dee pulled her away from the table before things escalated. “Let’s go find Ronald Moore and have him get those records for us.”
Before they could find him, Ronald Moore intercepted them. “Why are you threatening my records technician?”
Dee observed his balled fists, wide stance, and red face. He was trying to physically intimidate River. He’s dangerous.
River stood up to her full height and squared to face him. Her voice was low, measured, and controlled. “I never threatened anyone. I simply told your technician it was unacceptable to have an incomplete maintenance history. So when do you plan to have the rest of the records here? Or do I need to go over your head. Again?”
