Airframe (21 page)

“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.

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 Industrie 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.”

She wrote:

—
jumping off plane YOW!

—
unsafe aircraft
.

And beneath it, in large block letters, she wrote:

DEATHTRAP
.

She called Norton Aircraft for their version of the story. She got a PR guy named Benson. He sounded like one of those drawling, half-asleep corporate guys. She decided to hit him right between the eyes. “I want to ask you about the Dallas incident.”

“Dallas?” His voice sounded startled.

Good.

“Last year,” she said. “You had a flameout of the engine, and people jumped off the plane. Broke their legs.”

“Oh, right. That incident involved a 737,” Benson said.

—
incident w/737
.

“Uh-huh. Well, what can you tell me about it?”

“Nothing,” Benson said. “That wasn’t our plane.”

“Oh, come on,” she said. “Look, I already know about the incident.”

“That’s a Boeing plane.”

She sighed. “Jesus. Give me a break.” It was so tedious, the way these PR types stonewalled. As if a good investigative reporter would never find out the truth. They seemed to think if they didn’t tell her, no one would.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Malone, but we don’t make that plane.”

“Well, if that’s really true,” she said, her tone openly sarcastic, “I suppose you can tell me how I can confirm it?”

“Yes ma’am,” Benson said. “You dial area code 206 and ask for Boeing. They’ll help you.”

Click
.

Jesus! What a prick! How could these companies treat the media this way? You piss off a reporter, you’ll always get paid back. Didn’t they understand that?

She called Boeing, asked for the PR department. She got an answering machine, some bitch reciting a fax number and saying questions should be faxed, and they would get back to her. Unbelievable, Jennifer thought. A major American corporation, and they didn’t even answer the phone.

Irritably, she hung up. There was no point in waiting. If the Dallas incident involved a Boeing plane, she had no story.

No damn story.

She drummed her fingers on the desk, trying to decide what to do.

She called Norton back, saying she wanted to talk to someone in management, not PR. She was put through to the president’s office, then was transferred to some woman named Singleton. “How can I help you?” the woman said.

“I understand there’s been a delay in European certification
of the N-22. What’s the problem with the plane?” Jennifer asked.

“No problem at all,” Singleton said. “We’ve been flying the N-22 in this country for five years.”

“Well, I’ve been hearing from sources that this is an unsafe aircraft,” Jennifer said. “You had an engine flameout on the runway at Miami yesterday …”

“Actually, we had a rotor burst. That’s being investigated now.” The woman was speaking smoothly, calmly, as if it was the most normal thing in the world for an engine to blow up.

—
“rotor burst”!

“Uh-huh,” Jennifer said. “I see. But if it’s true your plane has no problems, why is the JAA withholding certification?”

The woman at the other end paused. “I can only give you background on this,” she said. “Off the record.”

She sounded unsettled, tense.

Good. Getting somewhere.

“There is no problem with the aircraft, Ms. Malone. The issue concerns powerplant. In this country, the plane flies with Pratt and Whitney engines. But the JAA is telling us that if we want to sell the plane in Europe, we’re going to have to equip it with IAE engines.”

“IAE?”

“A European consortium that makes engines. Like Airbus. A consortium.”

“Uh-huh,” Jennifer said.

—
IAE = consortium Europe

“Now allegedly,” Singleton continued, “the JAA wants us to equip the aircraft with the IAE engine to meet European noise and emission standards, which are more stringent than those in the U.S. But the reality is we make airframes, not engines, and we believe the engine decision should be left up to the customer. We install the engine the customer asks for. If they want an IAE, we put an IAE on. If they want a Pratt and Whitney, we put Pratt and Whitney on. They want GE, we put GE on. That’s the way it’s always been in this business. The
customer picks the engine. So we consider this an unwarranted regulatory intrusion by the JAA. We’re happy to put on IAE engines, if Lufthansa or Sabena tells us to do it. But we don’t think JAA should dictate the terms of market entry. In other words, the issue has nothing to do with airworthiness.”

Listening, Jennifer frowned. “You’re saying it’s a regulatory dispute?”

“Exactly. This is a trading bloc issue. The JAA is trying to force us to use European engines. But if that’s their goal, we think they should force it on the European airlines, not us.”

—
regulatory dispute!!!

“And why haven’t they forced it on the Europeans?”

“You’d have to ask JAA. But frankly, I imagine they’ve already tried, and been told to go to hell. Aircraft are custom built to the carrier’s specs. The operators choose the engines, the electronics packages, the interior configuration. It’s their choice.”

Jennifer was now doodling. She was listening to the tone of the woman’s voice at the other end of the line, trying to sense the emotion. This woman sounded slightly bored, like a schoolteacher at the end of the day. Jennifer detected no tension, no hesitation, no hidden secrets.

Fuck, she thought. No story.

She made one last try: she called the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington. She got put through to a man named Kenner in public affairs.

“I’m calling about the JAA certification of the N-22.”

Kenner sounded surprised. “Well, you know, that’s really not our area. You probably want to talk to someone at the FAA.”

“Can you give me anything on background?”

“Well, FAA aircraft certification is extremely rigorous and has served as the model for foreign regulatory bureaucracies. As long as I can remember, foreign agencies around the world have accepted FAA certification as sufficient. Now the JAA
has broken that tradition, and I don’t think it’s any secret why. It’s politics, Ms. Malone. The JAA wants the Americans to use European engines, so they’re threatening to withhold certification. And, of course, Norton’s about to make a sale of N-22s to China, and Airbus wants that sale.”

“So the JAA is trashing the plane?”

“Well. They’re certainly raising doubts.”

“Legitimate doubts?”

“Not as far as I’m concerned. The N-22’s a good plane. A proven plane. Airbus says they have a brand-new plane; Norton says they have a proven plane. The Chinese are probably going to take the proven product. It’s also somewhat less expensive.”

“But is the plane safe?”

“Oh, absolutely.”

—
NTSB says plane is safe
.

Jennifer thanked him, and hung up. She sat back in her chair, and sighed. No story.

Nothing.

Period.

The end.

“Shit,” she said.

She punched the intercom. “Deborah,” she said. “About this aircraft thing—”

“
Are you watching?”
Deborah said, squealing.

“Watching what?”

“CNN. It’s un-
fucking
-believable.”

Jennifer grabbed her remote.

The El Torito offered acceptable food at a reasonable price, and fifty-two kinds of beer; it was a local favorite of the engineers. The IRT members were all sitting at a center table in the main room, right off the bar. The waitress had taken their order and was leaving, when Kenny Burne said, “So, I hear Edgarton’s got a few problems.”