"So what? Flight Test will only make the story worse. She has no idea what caused the accident And she has no idea what will happen if she takes that Transpacific plane up. They probably can't reproduce the event And there may be problems nobody knows about"
"Like what?"
_ "That aircraft went through very severe G-force loads," Marder said. "It may have undetected structural damage. Anything can happen, when they take that plane up." Marder made a dismissive wave. "This changes nothing. Newsline airs from ten to eleven Saturday night. Early Saturday evening I'll notify the Board that some bad publicity is coming our way, and we have to schedule an emergency meeting Sunday morning. Hal can't get back from Hong Kong in time. And his friends on the Board will drop him when they hear about a sixteen-billion-dollar deal. They've all got stock. They know what the announcement will do to their shares. I'm the next president of this company, and nobody can do a thing to stop it. Not Hal Edgarton. And certainly not Casey Singleton."
WAR ROOM
4:20 P.M.
The cameras were packed up; the white foam sheets removed from the ceiling, the microphones unclipped; the electrical boxes and camera cases removed. But the negotiations dragged on. Ed Fuller, the lanky head of Legal, was there; so was Teddy Rawley, the pilot; and two engineers who worked on FT, to answer technical questions that arose.
For Newsline, Malone now did all of the talking; Reardon paced in the background, occasionally stopping to whisper in her ear. His commanding presence seemed to have vanished with the bright lights; he now appeared tired, fretful, and impatient.
Malone began by saying that since Newsline was doing an entire segment on the Norton N-22, it was in the interest of the company to allow Newsline to film the flight test.
Casey said that presented no problem. Flight tests were documented with dozens of video cameras, mounted both inside and outside the plane; the Newsline people could watch the entire test on monitors, on the ground. They could have the film afterward, for their broadcast
No, Malone said. That wouldn't be sufficient. Newsline's crews had to actually be on the plane.
Casey said mat was impossible, that no airframe manufacturer had ever allowed an outside crew on a flight test. She was, she said, already making a concession to let them see the video on the ground
Not good enough, Malone said.
Ed Fuller broke in to explain it was a question of liability. Norton simply couldn't allow uninsured nonemployees on the test. "You realize, of course, there is inherent danger in flight test. It's simply inescapable."
Malone said that Newsline would accept any risk, and sign waivers of liability.
Ed Fuller said he would have to draw up the waivers, but that Newsline's lawyers would have to approve them, and there wasn't time for that.
Malone said she could get approval from Newsline's lawyers in an hour. Any time of the day or night.
Fuller shifted ground. He said if Norton was going to let Newsline see the flight test, he wanted to be sure that the results of that test were accurately reported. He said he wanted to approve the edited film.
Malone said that journalistic ethics forbade that, and in any case there wasn't time. If the flight test ended around noon, she would have to cut film in the truck and transmit it to New York at once.
Fuller said the problem for the company remained. He wanted the flight test portrayed accurately.
They went back and forth. Finally Malone said she would include thirty seconds of unedited comment on the outcome of the flight by a Norton spokesperson. This would be taken from the press conference.
Fuller demanded a minute.
They compromised on forty seconds.
"We have another problem," Fuller said. "If we let you film the flight test, we don't want you to use the tape you obtained today, showing the actual incident."
No way, Malone said. The tape was going to be aired.
"You characterized the tape as having been obtained from a Norton employee," Fuller said. "That's incorrect. We want the provenance accurately stated."
"Well, we certainly got it from someone who works for Norton."
"No," Fuller said, "you didn't"
"It's one of your subcontractors."
"No, it's not I can provide you with the IRS definition of a subcontractor, if you like."
"This is a fine point..."
"We have already obtained a sworn statement from the receptionist, Christine Barron. She is not an employee of Norton Aircraft. She is not, in fact, an employee of Video Imaging. She is a temp from an agency."
"What's the point here?"
"We want you to state the facts accurately: that you obtained the tape from sources outside the company."
Malone shrugged. "As I said, this is a fine point."
"Then what's the problem?"
Malone thought for a minute. "Okay," she said.
Fuller slid a piece of paper across the table. "This brief document conveys that understanding. Sign it."
Malone looked at Reardon. Reardon shrugged.
Malone signed it. "I don't understand what all the fuss is about." She started to push it back to Fuller, and paused.
'Two crews, on the aircraft, during the flight test. Is that our agreement?"
"No," Fuller said. "That was never the agreement. Your crews will watch the test on the ground."
"That won't work for us."
Casey said that the Newsline crews could come to the test area; they could film the preparations, the takeoff and landing. But they couldn't actually come on the plane during the flight.
"Sorry," Malone said.
Teddy Rawley cleared his throat. "I don't think you understand the situation, Ms. Malone," he said. "You can't be walking around filming inside the airplane, during a flight test. Everybody on board has to be strapped in in a four-point harness. You can't even get up to pee. And you can't have lights or batteries, because they generate magnetic fields that might disrupt our readings."