KING-56 CRASH Follow-Up

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Aviation experts Alan Diehl (top) and John Nance say it's too early to declare victory on the King-56 crash investigation.

Diehl photo: Patricia Davenport

Alan Diehl says a technical expert representing the King-56 widows should be allowed to participate in the Air Force's new review of C-130 problems.

"The senators have two goals and this achieves the first--to review the King-56 investigation," says Wyden spokesman David Seldin. "The senators will continue to review the broader issue about the manner in which the Air Force conducts investigations."

In an editorial last Sunday, The Oregonian said of the proposed agreement "mission accomplished."

Photo: Brent Hirak

Damage Control
 
The ballyhooed Air Force agreement to further investigate the King-56 crash avoids real reforms.

BY BOB YOUNG, byoung@wweek.com

Alan Diehl and John Nance have some bad news for Oregon's senators.

Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden may have held hostage the Senate confirmation of the country's top soldier in order to force a more thorough probe into King-56, an Air Force transport plane that crashed off the coast of Oregon last fall ("Why Did These 10 Men Die," WW, June 18, 1997). But the senators didn't get as much as they should have, according to Diehl, the Air Force's former top civilian safety officer, and Nance, ABC-TV's aviation analyst and a retired Air Force pilot.

"This is nothing but clever Air Force damage control," says Nance of the agreement the Air Force struck with the senators this week.

The main shortcoming of the deal, explains Diehl, is that it doesn't address the fundamental flaw revealed by the King-56 crash: that the Air Force investigates itself with non-professional investigators who are given little time to do the job--and then keeps its findings secret.

 First, the good news. Smith and Wyden did get the Air Force to open an inquiry into all C-130 problems and accidents. The probe will be conducted by a team of Air Force officials and one expert from the National Transportation Safety Board, the federal agency renowned for its efficiency in investigating civilian plane accidents. "The NTSB is like the Royal Canadian Mounties," says Diehl, a former NTSB investigator. "They almost always get their man."

Then there's the bad news: The inquiry involves only one NTSB expert, it's supposed to be completed in just 90 days, and it will open the secret Air Force files on only one crash--that of King-56.

"The Air Force is only allowing a one-time glimpse," says Diehl. "It's a clever way to protect 'privilege'"--the Air Force term for the law that allows them to keep safety reports secret.

 "This is a 90-day quick look with one outsider," continues Diehl. "It's not the way the NTSB operates. The NTSB uses the party system--its own experts plus representatives from the airlines, manufacturers, unions and the Federal Aviation Administration. By bringing together a group of experts, no one can cover up anything."

The Air Force system, which is closed to outside experts, gives rise to bungled investigations, cover-ups and chronic safety problems, charge Diehl and Nance. "If their system is valid," says Nance, "why not let the White House investigate Whitewater; or let Nixon investigate Watergate?"

Both Smith and Wyden have acknowledged this problem.

"I think it's a fair criticism," says Smith. "But Ron and I are trying to look at what's possible in the short run and I think this is as good as we're going to get right now."

Diehl and Nance fear the lone NTSB official will be outmaneuvered, outvoted and overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information the crash team will review in three months. "The senators need to reject the agreement," says Nance, "and renew their drive to get real reform."

"It's not a perfect agreement," admits Smith. "But man, there's a fortress mentality in protecting this system. We changed it a little by getting an NTSB member included. I'm learning incrementalism is the way things work around here."

Smith and Wyden also stress that they'll still look at larger reforms. In fact, the duo sponsored a bill that requires the Air Force to review the wisdom of its investigation system. The bill has not yet passed the House.

 It's an opportune time for the senators to bargain hard because the Air Force has rarely been in a more vulnerable position. The Cold War is over, budget dollars are scarce, the Air Force is reeling from the recent resignation of its top general, Ronald Fogleman, and its chronic safety problems were again underscored by two plane crashes last weekend.

Gayle Schott, widow of the King-56 pilot, agrees with Diehl and Nance. "This is a small victory; a small crack in the dam," Schott says. "But with perseverance we'll hopefully be able to chisel away. We'll continue to ask the senators to help us change the system. It's just imperative that it be changed from top to bottom."