LEU ZAN PING, FIRST OFFICER 3/11/59
RICHARD YONG, FIRST OFFICER 9/9/61
GERHARD REIMANN, FIRST OFFICER 7/23/49
HENRI MARCHAND, ENGINEER 4/25/69
THOMAS CHANG, ENGINEER 6/29/70
ROBERT SHENG, ENGINEER 6/13/62
Malone scanned it, shrugged "It's the same."
"No, it's not. In one, Thomas Chang is listed as a first officer. In the second list, he appears as an engineer."
Malone said, "A clerical error."
Casey shook her head. "No."
She passed another sheet.
"This is a page from the Transpacific in-flight magazine, showing Captain John Chang and his family. It was sent to us by a Transpacific flight attendant, who wanted us to know the real story. You will notice his children are Erica and Thomas Chang. Thomas Chang is the pilot's son. He was among the flight crew of Flight 545."
Malone frowned.
"The Changs are a family of pilots. Thomas Chang is a pilot, qualified on several commuter aircraft. He is not type certified to fly the N-22."
"I don't believe this," Malone said.
"At the time of the incident," Casey continued "the captain, John Chang, had left the cockpit and walked to the back of the plane for coffee. He was aft when the accident occurred, and severely injured. He underwent brain surgery in Vancouver two days ago. The hospital thought it was the first officer, but his identity has now been confirmed as John Zhen Chang."
Malone was shaking her head
Casey handed her a memo:
FROM: S. NIETO, FSR VANC
TO: C. SINGLETON, YUMA TEST FAC
HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL
AUTHORITIES NOW CONFIRM THE POSTMORTEM IDENTIFICATION OF INJURED CREW MEMBER IN VANCOUVER HOSPITAL AS JOHN ZHEN CHANG THE CAPTAIN OF TRANSPACIFIC FLIGHT 545.
"Chang wasn't in the cockpit," Casey said. "He was in the back of the plane. His hat was found mere. So someone else was in the captain's chair, when the incident occurred."
Casey turned on the television, started the tape. "These are the concluding moments of the videotape which you obtained from the receptionist. You see the camera falling toward the front of the plane, and twisting to eventually lodge in the cockpit door. But before it does ... here!" She froze the frame. "You can see the flight deck."
"I can't see much," Malone said. "They're both looking away."
"You can see that the pilot has extremely short hair," Casey said. "Look at the picture. Thomas Chang has close-cropped hair."
Malone was shaking her head, strongly now. "I just don't believe this. That visual is not good enough, you have a three-quarter profile, it doesn't identify, it doesn't say anything."
"Thomas Chang has a small stud in his ear. You can see it in this magazine photo. And on the video, you can see the same stud catch the light, right there."
Malone was silent.
Casey pushed another piece of paper across to her.
"This is a translation of the Chinese voice communications in the cockpit as recorded on the tape you have. A great deal of it is unintelligible because of the cockpit alarms. But the relevant passage is marked for you."
0544:59 ALM stall stall stall
0545:00 F/O what (unintelligible) you
0545:01 CPTN am (unintelligible) correct the
0545:02 ALM stall stall stall
0545:03 F/O torn release die (unintelligible)
0545:04 CPTN what do (unintelligible) it
0545:11 F/O tommy (unintelligible) when
(unintelligible) must (unintel?ligible) the
Casey took the paper back. "That's not for you to keep, or refer to publicly. But it corroborates the videotape in your possession."
Malone said, in a stunned voice, "He let his kid fly the plane?"
"Yes," Casey said. "John Chang permitted a pilot who was not type certified to fly the N-22. As a result, fifty-six people were injured and four people died - including John Chang himself. We believe that the aircraft was on autopilot, and Chang left his son momentarily in charge of the flight. That was when the disagree warning occurred, and the son extended the slats to clear it But the son panicked, overcorrected, and porpoised. Eventually we believe Thomas Chang was knocked unconscious by the severe movements of the airplane, and the autopilot took over."
Malone said, "On a commercial flight, some guy lets his fucking kid fly the plane?"
"Yes," Casey said.
"That's the story?'
"Yes," Casey said. "And you have the tape in your possession that proves it. Therefore you are aware of the facts. Mr. Reardon stated on camera that both he and his colleagues in New York have watched the tape in its entirety. So you have seen this shot of the cockpit. I have now informed you what that shot represents. We have provided you with corroborating evidence - not all the evidence, there's more. We have also demonstrated in flight test that there is nothing wrong with the aircraft itself."