“See it?” Kenny said.
“What? You mean the parts stamp?” Casey said. The Pratt and Whitney logo was a circle with an eagle inside it, and the letters P and W.
“That’s right. The stamp.”
“What about it?”
Burne shook his head. “Casey,” he said. “The eagle is backward. It’s facing the wrong way.”
“Oh.” She hadn’t noticed that.
“Now, do you think Pratt and Whitney put their eagle on backward? No way. This is a goddamn counterfeit part, Casey.”
“Okay,” she said. “But did it affect flight?”
That was the critical point. They’d already found counterfeit parts on the plane. Amos had said there would be more, and he was undoubtedly right. But the question was, Did any of them affect the behavior of the plane during the accident?
“Could have,” Kenny said, stomping around. “But I can’t tear down this engine, for Chrissakes. That’d be two weeks right there.”
“Then how will we find out?’
“We need that flight recorder, Casey. We’ve got to have that data.”
Richman said, “You want me to go over to Digital? See how Wong is coming?”
“No,” Casey said. “It won’t do any good.” Rob Wong could be temperamental. Putting more pressure on him wouldn’t accomplish anything; he was likely to walk out, and not return for two days.
Her cell phone rang. It was Norma.
“It’s starting,” she said. “You got calls from Jack Rogers, from Barry Jordan at the LA Times, from somebody named Winslow at the Washington Post. And a request for background material on the N-22, from Newsline.”
“Newsline? That TV show?”
“Yeah.”
“They doing a story?”
“I don’t think so,” Norma said. “It sounded like a fishing expedition.”
“Okay,” Casey said. “I’ll call you back.” She sat down in a corner of the hangar and took out her notepad. She began to write out a list of documents to be included in a press package. Summary of FAA certification procedures for new aircraft. Announcement of FAA certification of the N-22; Norma would have to dig that up from five years ago. Last year’s FAA report on aircraft safety. The company’s internal report on N-22 safety in flight from 1991 to present—the record was outstanding. The annual updated history of die N-22. The list of ADs issued for the aircraft to date—there were very few. The one-sheet features summary on the plane, basic stats on speed and range, size and weight. She didn’t want to send too much. But that would cover the bases.
Richman was watching her. “What now?” he said.
She tore off the sheet, gave it to him. “Give this to Norma. Tell her to prepare a press packet, and send it to whoever asks for it.”
“Okay.” He stared at the list. “I’m not sure I can read—”
“Norma will know. Just give it to her.”
“Okay.”
Richman walked away, humming cheerfully.
Her phone rang. It was Jack Rogers, calling her directly. “I keep hearing the wing’s being offset. I’m told Norton is shipping the tools to Korea, but they’re going to be transshipped from there to Shanghai.”
“Did Marder talk to you?”
“No. We’ve traded calls.”
‘Talk to him,” Casey said, “before you do anything.”
“Will Marder go on the record?”
“Just talk to him.”
“Okay,” Rogers said. “But he’ll deny it, right?”
‘Talk to him.”
Rogers sighed. “Look, Casey. I don’t want to sit on a story that I’ve got right—and then read it two days from now in the LA Times. Help me out, here. Is there anything to the wing tooling story, or not?’
“I can’t say anything.”
‘Tell you what,” Rogers said. “If I were to write that several high-level Norton sources deny the wing is going to China, I assume you wouldn’t have a problem with that?”
“I wouldn’t, no.” A careful answer, but then it was a careful question.
“Okay, Casey. Thanks. I’ll call Marder.” He hung up.
NEWSLINE
2:25 p,m.
Jennifer Malone dialed the number on the fax, and asked for the contact: Alan Price. Mr. Price was still at lunch, and she spoke to his assistant, Ms. Weld.
“I understand there’s a delay in European certification of the Norton aircraft. What’s the problem?’
“You mean the N-22?”
“That’s right.”
“Well, this is a contentious issue, so I’d prefer to go off the record.”
“How far off?”
“Background.”
“Okay.”
“In the past, the Europeans accepted FAA certification of a new aircraft, because that certification was thought to be very rigorous. But lately JAA has been questioning the U.S. certification process. They feel that the American agency, the FAA, is in bed with the American manufacturers, and may have relaxed its standards.”
“Really?” Perfect, Jennifer thought. Inept American bureaucracy. Dick Shenk loved those stories. And the FAA had been under attack for years; there must be plenty of skeletons there. “What” s the evidence?” she asked.
“Well, the Europeans find the whole system unsatisfactory. For example, the FAA doesn’t even store certification documents. They allow the aircraft companies to do that It seems entirely too cozy.”
“Uh-huh.” She wrote:
—FAA in bed with mfrs. Corrupt!
“Anyway,” the woman said, “if you want more information, I suggest you call the JAA directly, or maybe Airbus. I can give you the numbers.”
She called the FAA instead. She got put through to their public affairs office, a man named Wilson.
“I understand the JAA is refusing to validate certification of the Norton N-22.”
“Yes,” Wilson said. “They’ve been dragging their feet for a while now.”
“The FAA has already certified the N-22?”
“Oh sure. You can’t build an airplane in this country without FAA approval and certification of the design and manufacturing process from start to finish.”
“And do you have the certification documents?”
“No. They’re kept by the manufacturer. Norton has them.”
Ah-ha, she thought. So it was true.
—Norton keeps certification, not FAA.
—Fox guarding chicken coop?
“Does it bother you that Norton holds the documentation?”
“No, not at all.”
“And you’re satisfied that the certification process was proper?”
“Oh sure. And like I said, the plane was certified five years ago.”
“I’ve been hearing that the Europeans are dissatisfied with the entire process of certification.”
“Well, you know,” Wilson said, adopting a diplomatic tone, “the JAA’s a relatively new organization. Unlike the FAA, they have no statutory authority. So, I think they’re still trying to decide how they want to proceed.”
She called the information office for Airbus Industries in Washington, and got put through to a marketing guy named Samuelson. He reluctantly confirmed that he had heard of the JAA confirmation delays, though he didn’t have any details.
“But Norton’s having a lot of problems these days,” he said. “For example, I think the China sale is not as firm as they pretend it is.”
This was the first she had heard of a China sale. She wrote:
—China sale N-22?
She said, “Uh-huh…”
“I mean, let’s face it,” Samuelson continued, “The Airbus A-340 is a superior plane in every way. It’s newer than the Norton widebody. Better range. It’s better in every way. We’ve been trying to explain this to the Chinese, and they are starting to understand our perspective. Anyway, if I had to guess, I’d guess the Norton sale to the People’s Republic is going to fall apart. And of course safety concerns are part of that decision. Off the record, I think the Chinese are very concerned the plane is unsafe.”
—C thinks airplane unsafe.
“Who would I talk to about that?” she said.
“Well, as you know, the Chinese are generally reluctant to discuss negotiations in progress,” Samuelson said. “But I know a guy over at Commerce who may be able to help you. He’s with the Ex-Im Bank, which provides long-term financing for overseas sales.”
“What’s his name?” she said.
His name was Robert Gordon. It took fifteen minutes for the operator at the Commerce Department to find him. Jennifer doodled. Finally the secretary said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Gordon is in a meeting.”
“I’m calling from Newsline” she said.
“Oh.” A pause. “Just a minute, please.”
She smiled. It never failed.
Gordon came on, and she asked him about the JAA certification, and the Norton sale to the People’s Republic. “Is it true the sale is in jeopardy?”
“Every airplane sale is in jeopardy until it’s concluded, Ms. Malone,” Gordon said. “But as far as I know, the China sale is in good standing. I did hear a rumor that Norton is having trouble with JAA certification for Europe.”
“What’s the trouble there?”
“Well,” Gordon said, “I’m not really an aircraft expert, but the company’s had an awful lot of problems.”
—Norton has problems.
Gordon said, “There was that thing in Miami yesterday. And of course you heard about that incident in Dallas.”
“What’s that?”
“Last year, they had an engine flameout on the runway. And everybody jumped off the plane. A bunch of people broke their legs jumping off the wings.”
—Dallas incident—engine/broken legs. Tape?
She said, “Uh-huh…”
“I don’t know about you,” Gordon said, “but I don’t like to fly very much, and uh, Jesus Christ, people are jumping off the airplane, that’s not a plane I’d want to be on.”