bloodycrackdown6

cont. from wednesday:

The Governments' Lines

Although there have not been any governmental investigations which have sufficiently satisfied the family members and others who would like to know what actually happened in Gander, the government of the United States has conducted inquiries that examine the U.S. government's involvement in the investigation. In December of 1990, the House of Representatives conducted a two-day hearing on the accident. Many top governmental officials presented their testimony concerning their agencies' roles in the post-crash investigation. Gen. Crosby and Col. McMeekin were present, and answered most questioning with military precision. However, on several occasions when congressmen drilled for answers, Crosby would interrupt and speak on behalf of McMeekin, when McMeekin seemed to be verbally cornered. The subcommittee adjourned on December 5, concluding nothing of great proportions. The hearings had been the result of growing pressure from families and a select few congressmen, the final verdict stating that the "Subcommittee is dismayed and troubled by the failure of the U.S. Government to pursue an active role in the investigation of the Gander accident."

On October 28, 1988, the Canadian Aviation Safety Board concluded its internal investigation into the accident, although it resulted in no single conclusion. A group of nine board members split 5 to 4 on the ruling of the cause of the accident. The majority concluded that the crash was due to ice accumulation on the wings, which may have caused the aircraft to stall. The minority concluded differently, stating that the crash could have been caused by an "on-board fire, possibly due to a detonation in the cargo compartment." Later, in 1989, Canadian Judge WIlliam Estey, a former Justice of the Canadian Supreme Court, was asked to review the findings of both the majority and minority, in hope that he might order a reopening of the investigation. Judge Estey, however, determined that both sides had plausible support for their respective arguments, but added that "further investigation is not ... warranted." (7:763)


The Minority Report:

In-Flight Fire/Explosion
Eye Witnesses Saw Fire

On the day after the accident, one of the witnesses who saw the aircraft pass over his truck testified, "I think the right-hand side of the aircraft was on fire." He later explained that the "yellow/orange glow" seemed to come from the right-hand side "fairly close to the body" and it was so intense that he could see writing on the aircraft's tail. When asked to locate the source of the glow at the Board's public inquiry, he pointed to the cargo compartment at the juncture of the right wing and the fuselage.


The other eyewitness who saw the aircraft pass directly overhead said, "My first impression of the glow was that it was a fire." He could only say that the glow came from the "bottom side" of the aircraft. It was bright enough to illuminate the cab of his truck. This witness also noted that he lived by an airport and this light was not like any other he ever saw on an airplane.


The eyewitness who saw the aircraft pass in front of him from right to left stated. "I couldn't see the right-hand side of the airplane. But I could tell that it was very bright on that side of the plane, like something was on fire."


A witness who is not mentioned by the majority observed the take-off run of the Arrow Air DC-8 from a parking lot near the Gander Airport terminal building. This witness saw the Arrow Air DC-8 taxi out, heard the take-off, and then saw a flash and what appeared to be a "large orange oval object" which then "blew up" and "went into a million pieces". The witness located this "object" low in the sky in a direction that would have placed it on the extension of the runway somewhere close to the Trans-Canada Highway.


The possibility of a fire prior to the main explosion is reinforced by the other witness observations. The crew of an aircraft in the vicinity saw "the sky light up" a few seconds before the fireball of the main explosion. A witness on the ground reported that "there was a second burst of flame that shot up in the air as well. It would appear to me that there was a second explosion."


Thus, a review of the testimony relating to the "orange/yellow glow" reported by eyewitnesses leads us to conclude that this glow may have been a fire burning through the lower right fuselage near the wing root.

Tomorrow: Islamic Jihad claims responsibility.