0543:23 TPA545 this is transpacific five four five we have an emergency
0543:26 ATAC affirmative zero zero one
0543:29 ATAC go ahead five four five
0543:31 TPA545 request priority clearance for emergency landing in los angeles
0543:32 AAL001 down to twenty nine thousand
0543:35 ATAC okay five four five understand you request priority clearance to land
0543:40 TPA545 affirmative
0543:41 ATAC say the nature of your emergency
0543:42 UAH 198 three two one ground thirty two thousand
0543:55 AALOOl holding two six nine
0544:05 TPA545 we have a passenger emergency we need ambulances on the ground i would say thirty or forty ambulances maybe more
0544:10 ATAC tpa five four five say again are you asking for forty ambulances
0544:27 UAH 198 turn one two four point niner
0544:35 TPA545 affirmative we encountered severe turbulence during flight we have injuries of passengers and flight crew
0544:48 ATAC copy one nine eight good day
0544:50 ATAC transpacific i copy your ground request for forty ambulances
0544:52 UAH198 thank you
Casey puzzled over the exchanges. Because they suggested very erratic behavior by the pilot.
For example, the Transpacific incident had occurred shortly after five in the morning. At that time, the plane was still in radio contact with Honolulu ARINC. With so many injuries, the captain could have reported an emergency to Honolulu.
But he hadn't done that.
Why not?
Instead, the pilot continued to Los Angeles. And he had waited until he was about to land before reporting an emergency.
Why had he waited so long?
And why would he say the incident had been caused by turbulence? He knew that wasn't true. The captain had told the stewardess the slats deployed. And she knew, from Ziegler's audio, that the slats had deployed. So why hadn't the pilot announced it? Why lie to approach control?
Everyone agreed John Chang was a good pilot. So what was the explanation for his behavior? Was he in shock? Even the best pilots sometimes behaved oddly in a crisis. But there seemed to be a pattern here - almost a plan. She looked ahead:
0544:59 ATAC do you need medical personnel too what is the nature of the injuries you are bringing in
0545:10 TPA545 i am not sure
0545:20 ATAC can you give us an estimate
0545:30 TPA545 i am sorry no an estimate is not possible
0545:32 AALOOl two one two niner clear
0545:35 ATAC is anyone unconscious
0545:40 TPA545 no i do not think so but two are dead
The captain seemed to report the fatalities as an afterthought. What was really going on?
0545:43 ATAC copy zero zero one
0545:51 ATAC tpa five four five what is the condition of your aircraft
0545:58 TPA545 we have damage to the passenger cabin minor damage only
Casey thought, Minor damage only? That cabin had sustained millions of dollars of damage. Hadn't the captain gone back to look for himself? Did he not know the extent of the damage? Why would he say what he did?
0546:12 ATAC what is the condition of the flight deck
0546:22 TPA545 flight deck is operational fdau is nominal
0546:31 ATAC copy that five four five what is the condition of your flight crew
0546:38 TPA545 captain and first officer in good condition
At that moment one of the first officers had been covered in blood. Again, did the pilot not know? She glanced at the rest of the transcript, then pushed it aside. She'd show it to Felix tomorrow, and get his opinion.
She went on, looking through the Structure Reports, the Interior Cabin Reports, the relevant PMA records for the counterfeit slats locking pin and the counterfeit thruster cowl. Steadily, patiently, she worked on into the night
It was after ten o'clock when she again turned to the faults printout from Flight 545. She had been hoping she could skip this, and use the flight recorder data instead. But now there was nothing to do but slog through it.
Yawning, tired, she stared at the columns of numbers on the first page:
A/S PWR TEST 00000010000
AIL SERVO COMP 00001001000
AOA INV 10200010001
CFDS SENS FAIL 00000010000
CRZ CMD MON INV 10000020100
EL SERVO COMP 00000000010
EPR/N1 TRA-1 00000010000
FMS SPEED INV 00000040000
.PRESS ALT INV 00000030000