Of course Barker was experienced, not only on television but in the courtroom. The only problem was that he didn’t give her strong emotion—no shock, no outrage. On the contrary, his tone, his manner, his body language, suggested profound regret. It was unfortunate that this situation arose. It was unfortunate that steps hadn’t been taken to correct the problem. It was unfortunate that authorities hadn’t listened to him for all these years.
“There have been eight previous problems with slats on the airplane,” he said. He held the model up, near his face, turned it so that it didn’t gleam in the crew lights. “These are the slats,” he said, pulling out a sliding panel from the front of the wing. He took his hand away, and said, “You get that in close-up?”
“I was late,” the cameraman said “Could you do it again?’
“Sure. Are you starting wide?”
‘Two Ts,” the cameraman said.
Barker nodded. He paused, then began again. “There have been eight previous problems with slats on this airplane.” Again he held the model up, this time already correctly turned so it didn’t reflect in the light. “These are the slats,” he said, and pulled out the panel in front of the wing. Then he paused again.
“Got it that time,” the cameraman said.
Barker continued. “The slats are only deployed for takeoff and landing. During flight, they are tucked back in the wing. But on the Norton N-22, the slats have been known to extend by themselves during flight. It’s a design error.” Another pause. “I’m going to demonstrate what happens now, so you may want to be wide enough to see the whole plane.”
“Widening,” the cameraman said.
Barker waited patiently for a moment, then said, “The consequence of this design error is that when the slats extend, the airplane noses upward, like this, threatening to stall.” He tilted the model up slightly. “At this point, it is almost impossible to control. If the pilot tries to restore the plane to level flight, the plane overcompensates, and goes into a dive. Again, the pilot corrects, to come out of the dive. The plane climbs. Then dives. Then climbs again. That is what happened to Flight 545. That is why people died.”
Barker paused.
“Now we’re through with the model,” he said. “So I’m going to put it down.”
“Okay,” Jennifer said She had been watching Barker on the monitor on the floor, and now she was thinking that she might nave difficulty cutting from the wider shot to a shot of putting the model down. What she really needed was a repetition of—
Barker said, “The plane dives. Then climbs. Then dives again. That is what happened to Flight 545. That is why people died.” With a regretful look, he put the model down. Although he did it gently, his very gesture seemed to suggest a crash.
Jennifer had no illusions about what she was watching. This wasn’t an interview; it was a performance. But a skilled approach was not rare these days. More and more interview subjects seemed to understand camera angles and editing sequences. She had seen executives show up in full makeup for an interview. At first, television people had been alarmed by this new sophistication. But lately, they’d become used to it. There was never enough time; they were always rushing from one location to the next. A prepared subject made their work so much easier.
But just because Barker was smooth and camera savvy, she wasn’t going to let him get away without a little probing. The final part of her job today was to cover the basic questions, in case Marty ran out of time, or forgot to ask them.
She said, “Mr. Barker?”
“Yes?” He turned toward her.
“Check the look,” she said to the cameraman.
“His look is wide. Move a little closer to camera.”
Jennifer slid her chair over so she was right beside the lens. Barker turned slightly to face her, at her new position.
“His look is fine, now.”
“Mr. Barker,” Jennifer said, “you are a former FAA employee…”
“I used to work for the FAA,” Barker said, “but I left the agency because I disagreed with their hands-off attitude toward manufacturers. The Norton plane is a result of those lax policies.”
Barker was again demonstrating his skill: his answer was a complete statement. He knew that he was more likely to get his comments on camera if they were not responses to a question.
Jennifer said, “There is some controversy surrounding your departure.”
“I am familiar with some of the allegations about why I left the FAA,” Barker said, again making a statement “But the fact is my departure was an embarrassment to the agency. I criticized the way they worked, and when they refused to respond, I left. So I’m not surprised they are still trying to discredit me.”
She said, “The FAA claims you leaked materials to the press. They say they fired you for that.”
“There’s never been any proof of the allegations the FAA has made about me. I have never seen any FAA official produce one shred of evidence to back their criticisms of me.”
“You work for Bradley King, the attorney?’
“I have served as an expert aviation witness on a number of legal cases. I think it’s important that somebody with knowledge speak out.”
“You are paid by Bradley King?’
“Any expert witness is reimbursed for time and expenses. That’s standard procedure.”
“Isn’t it true that you’re a full-time employee of Bradley King? That your office, everything in this room, everything we see here, is paid for by King?’
“I am funded by the non-profit Institute for Aviation Research in Washington. My job is to promote safety in civil aviation. I do whatever I can to make the skies safe for travelers.”
“Mr. Barker, come on: Aren’t you an expert for hire?’
“I certainly have strong opinions about air safety. It’s only natural that I would be hired by employers who share my concerns.”
“What is your opinion of the FAA?’
“The FAA is well intentioned, but it has a dual mandate, both to regulate air travel and to promote it. The agency needs complete reform. It is much too cozy with the manufacturers.”
“Can you give me an example?’ It was a feed; she knew from previous conversations what he would say.
Again, Barker made a statement. “One good example of this cozy relationship is the way the FAA treats certification. The documents required to certify a new airplane are not maintained by the FAA, but by the manufacturers themselves. This hardly seems proper. The fox is guarding the chicken coop.”
“Is the FAA doing a good job?”
“I’m afraid the FAA is doing a very poor job. American lives are needlessly put at risk. Frankly it’s time for a thorough overhaul. Otherwise I am afraid passengers will continue to die, as they did on this Norton aircraft.” He gestured—slowly, so the camera could follow—to the model on his desk. “In my opinion,” he said, “what happened on that airplane … is a disgrace.”
The interview ended. While her crew was packing up, Barker came over to her. “Who else are you seeing?”
“Jack Rogers is next.”
“He’s a good man.”
“And someone from Norton.” She consulted her notes. “A John Marder.”
“Ah.”
“What does that mean?’
“Well, Marder is a fast-talker. He’ll give you a lot of double-talk about Airworthiness Directives. A lot of FAA jargon. But the fact is that he was the program manager on the N-22. He supervised the development of that aircraft. He knows there’s a problem—he’s part of it.”
OUTSIDE NORTON
After the practiced smoothness of Barker, the reporter, Jack Rogers, was a bit of a shock. He showed up wearing a lime-green sport coat that screamed Orange County, and his check-patterned tie jumped on the monitor. He looked like a golf pro, spruced up for a job interview.
Jennifer said nothing at first; she just thanked the reporter for coming, and positioned him in front of the chain-link fence, with Norton Aircraft in the background. She went over her questions with him; he gave tentative little answers, excited, eager to please.
“Gee, it’s hot,” she said. She turned to the cameraman. “How we coming, George?”
“Almost there.”
She turned back to Rogers. The sound guy unbuttoned Rogers’s shirt, threaded the microphone up to his collar. As preparations continued, Rogers began to sweat. Jennifer called for the makeup girl to wipe him down. He seemed relieved. Then, pleading the heat, she convinced Rogers to remove his sport coat and sling it over his shoulder. She said it would give him a working-journalist look. He gratefully agreed. She suggested he loosen his tie, which he did.
She went back to the cameraman. “How is it?”
“Better without the jacket. But that tie is a nightmare.”
She returned to Rogers, smiled. “This is working so well,” she said. “How would it be if you take off the tie, and roll up your sleeves?”