dk.solesurvivor-第24部分

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ell　behind　Barbara　and　then　came　to　a　stop　altogether。　His　soul　was　as　gouged　as　this　field；　ploughed　by　pain。
　　Barbara　returned　to　Joe　and；　without　a　word；　slipped　her　hand　into　his。　He　held　tightly　to　her；　and　they　set　out　again。
　　As　they　approached　the　impact　point；　he　saw　the　fire…blackened　trees　along　the　north　perimeter　of　the　forest；　which　had　served　as　backdrop　to　the　crash…scene　photograph　in　the　Post。　Some　pines　had　been　stripped　bare　of　needles　by　the　flames；　their　branches　were　charred　stubs。　A　score　of　seared　aspens；　as　brittle　as　charcoal；　imprinted　a　stark　geometry　on　the　dismal　sky。
　　They　stopped　at　the　eroded　rim　of　the　crater；　the　uneven　floor　below　them　was　as　deep　as　a　two…story　house　in　some　places。　Although　patches　of　grass　bristled　from　the　sloping　walls；　it　did　not　thrive　on　the　bottom　of　the　depression；　where　shattered　slabs　of　grey　stone　shown　through　a　thin　skim　of　dirt　and　brown　leaves　deposited　by　the　wind。
　　Barbara　said；　'It　hit　with　enough　force　to　blast　away　thousands　of　years　of　accumulated　soil　and　still　fracture　the　bedrock　beneath。'
　　Even　more　shaken　by　the　power　of　the　crash　than　he　had　expected　to　be；　Joe　turned　his　attention　to　the　sombre　sky　and　struggled　to　breathe。
　　An　eagle　appeared　out　of　the　mountain　mists　to　the　west；　flying　eastward　on　a　course　as　unwaveringly　straight　as　a　latitude　line　on　a　map。　Silhouetted　against　the　grey…white　overcast；　it　was　almost　as　dark　as　Poe's　raven；　but　as　it　passed　under　that　portion　of　sky　that　was　blue…black　with　a　still…brewing　storm；　it　appeared　to　grow　as　pale　as　a　spirit。
　　Joe　turned　to　watch　the　bird　as　it　passed　overhead　and　away。
　　'Flight　353；'　Barbara　said；　'was　tight　on　course　and　free　of　problems　when　it　passed　the　Goodland　navigational　beacon；　which　is　approximately　a　hundred　and　seventy　air　miles　east　of　Colorado　Springs。　By　the　time　it　ended　here；　it　was　twenty…eight　miles　off　course。'
　　
　　Encouraging　Joe　to　stay　with　her　on　a　slow　walk　around　the　crater　rim；　Barbara　Christman　summarized　the　known　details　of　the　doomed　747　from　its　takeoff　until　its　premature　descent。
　　Out　of　John　F。　Kennedy　International　Airport　in　New　York　City；　Flight　353；　bound　for　Los　Angeles；　ordinarily　would　have　followed　a　more　southerly　corridor　than　the　one　it　travelled　that　August　evening。　Due　to　thunderstorms　throughout　the　South　and　tornado　warnings　in　the　southern　Midwest；　another　route　was　considered。　More　important；　the　headwinds　on　the　northerly　corridor　were　considerably　less　severe　than　those　on　the　southern；　by　taking　the　path　of　least　resistance；　flight　time　and　fuel　consumption　could　be　substantially　reduced。　Consequently；　the　Nationwide　flight…route　planning　manager　assigned　the　aircraft　to　Jet　Route　146。
　　Departing　JFK　only　four　minutes　behind　schedule；　the　non…stop　to　LAX　sailed　high　over　northern　Pennsylvania；　Cleveland；　the　southern　curve　of　Lake　Erie；　and　southern　Michigan。　Routed　south　of　Chicago；　it　crossed　the　Mississippi　River　from　Illinois　to　Iowa　at　the　city　of　Davenport。　In　Nebraska；　passing　the　Lincoln　navigational　beacon；　Flight　353　adjusted　course　southwest　toward　the　next　major　forward　beacon　at　Goodland　in　the　northwest　corner　of　Kansas。
　　The　battered　flight…data　recorder；　salvaged　from　the　wreckage；　eventually　revealed　that　the　pilot　made　the　proper　course　correction　from　Goodland　toward　the　next　major　forward　beacon　at　Blue　Mesa；　Colorado。　But　about　a　hundred　and　ten　miles　past　Goodland；　something　went　wrong。　Although　it　experienced　no　loss　of　altitude　or　airspeed；　the　747　began　to　veer　off　its　assigned　flight　path；　now　travelling　west…southwest　at　a　seven…degree　deviation　from　Jet　Route　146。
　　For　two　minutes；　nothing　more　happened…and　then　the　aircraft　made　a　sudden　three…degree　heading　change；　nose　right；　as　if　the　pilot　had　begun　to　recognize　that　he　was　off　course。　But　just　three　seconds　later；　this　was　followed　by　an　equally　sudden　four…degree　heading　change；　nose　left。
　　Analysis　of　all　thirty　parameters　covered　by　this　particular　flight…data　recorder　seemed　to　confirm　that　the　heading　changes　were　either　yawing　of　the　craft　or　resulted　in　yawing。　First　the　tail　section　had　swung　to　the　left…or　port…while　the　nose　had　gone　right…starboard…and　then　the　tail　had　swung　to　the　right　and　the　nose　to　the　left；　skidding　in　midair　almost　as　a　car　might　fishtail　on　an　icy　highway。
　　Post…crash　data　analysis　also　gave　rise　to　the　suspicion　that　the　pilot　might　have　used　the　rudder　to　execute　these　abrupt　changes　of　heading…which　made　no　sense。　Virtually　all　yaws　result　from　movements　of　the　rudder；　the　vertical　panel　in　the　tail；　but　pilots　of　mercial　jets　eschew　use　of　the　rudder　out　of　consideration　for　their　passengers。　A　severe　yaw　creates　lateral　acceleration；　which　can　throw　standing　passengers　to　the　floor；　spill　food　and　drinks；　and　induce　a　general　state　of　alarm。
　　Captain　Delroy　Blane　and　his　copilot；　Victor　Santorelli；　were　veterans　with　forty…two　years　of　mercial　piloting　between　them。　For　all　heading　changes；　they　would　have　used　the　ailerons
　　…　hinged　panels　on　the　trailing　edge　of　each　wing…which　facilitate　gentle　banking　turns。　They　would　have　resorted　to　the　rudder　only　in　the　event　of　engine　failure　on　takeoff　or　when　landing　in　a　strong　crosswind。
　　The　flight…data　recorder　had　shown　that　eight　seconds　after　the　first　yawing　incident；　Flight　353's　heading　again　abruptly　changed　three　degrees；　nose　left；　followed　two　seconds　later　by　a　second　and　even　more　severe　shift　of　seven　degrees　to　the　left。　Both　engines　were　at　full　performance　and　bore　no　responsibility　for　the　heading　change　or　the　subsequent　disaster。
　　As　the　front　of　the　plane　swung　sharply　to　port；　the　starboard　wing　would　have　been　moving　faster　through　the　air；　rapidly　gaining　lift。　When　the　starboard　wing　lifted；　it　forced　the　port　wing　down。　During　the　next　fateful　twenty…two　seconds；　the　banking　angle　grew　to　one　hundred　forty…six　degrees；　while　the　nose…down　pitch　reached　eighty…four　degrees。
　　In　that　incredibly　short　span　of　time；　the　747　went　from　earth…parallel　flight　to　a　deadly　roll　while　virtually　standing　on　end。
　　Pilots　with　the　experience　of　Blane　and　Santorelli　should　have　been　able　to　correct　the　yaw　quickly；　before　it　became　a　roll。　Even　then；　they　should　have　been　able　to　pull　the　aircraft　out　of　the　roll　before　it　became　an　inevitable　plunge。　Under　any　scenario　that　the　human…performance　experts　could　conceive；　the　captain　would　have　turned　the　control　wheel　hard　to　the　right　and　would　have　used　the　ailerons　to　bring　the　747　back　to　level　flight。
　　Instead；　perhaps　because　of　a　singular　hydraulic…systems　failure　that　defeated　the　pilots'　efforts；　Nationwide　Flight　353　rolled　into　a　steep　dive。　With　both　jet　engines　still　firing；　it　rocketed　into　this　meadow；　splashing　millenniums　of　accumulated　soil　as　if　it　were　water；　boring　to　the　bedrock　with　an　impact　powerful　enough　to　crack　the　steel　blades　of　the　Pratt　and　Whitney　powerplants　as　though　they　were　made　of　balsa　wood；　sufficiently　loud　to　shake　all　the　winged　residents　out　of　the　trees　halfway　up　the　slopes　of　distant　Pike's　Peak。
　　
　　Halfway　around　the　impact　crater；　Barbara　and　Joe　stopped；　now　facing　east　toward　beetling　thunderheads；　less　concerned　about　the　pending　storm　than　about　the　brief　thunder　of　that　year…ago　night。
　　Three　hours　after　the　crash；　the　headquarters　contingent　of　the　investigating　team　departed　Washington　from　National　Airport。　They　made　the　journey　in　a　Gulfstream　jet　owned　by　the　Federal　Aviation　Administration。
　　During　the　night；　Pueblo　County　fire　and　police　officials　had　quickly　ascertained　that　there　were　no　survivors。　They　pulled　back　so　as　not　to　disturb　evidence　that　might　help　the　NTSB　arrive　at　an　understanding　of　the　cause　of　the　disaster；　and　they　secured　the　perimeter　of　the　crash　site。
　　By　dawn；　the　Go…Team　arrived　in　Pueblo；　Colorado；　which　was　closer　to　the　incident　than　Colorado　Springs。　They　were　met　by　regional　FAA　officials　who　were　already　in　possession　of　the　flight…data　recorder　and　cockpit…voice　recorder　from　Nationwide　353。　Both　devices　emitted　signals　by　which　they　could　be　located；　therefore；　swift　retrieval　from　the　wreckage　had　been　possible　even　in　darkness　and　even　from　the　relative　remoteness　of　the　site。
　　'The　recorders　were　put　on　the　Gulfstream　and　flown　back　to　the　Safety　Board's　labs　in　Washington；'　Barbara　said。　'The　steel　jackets　were　badly　battered；　even　breached；　but　we　were　hopeful　the　data　could　be　extracted。'
　　In　a　caravan　of　four…wheel…drive　vehicles　driven　by　county　emergency…response　personnel；　the　Safety　Board　team　was　conveyed　to　the　crash　site　for　its　initial　survey。　The　secured　perimeter　extended　to　the　gravel　road　that　turned　off　State　Route　115；　and　gathered　along　both　sides　of　the　paved　highway　in　that　vicinity　were　fire　trucks；　black…and…whites；　ambulances；　drab　sedans　from　federal　and　state　agencies；　coroner's　vans；　as　well　as　scores　of　cars　and　pickups　belonging　to　the　genuinely　concerned；　the　curious；　and　the　ghoulish。
　　'It's　always　chaos；'　Barbara　said。　'Lots　of　television　vans　with　satellite　dishes。　Nearly　a　hundred　and　fifty　members　of　the　press。　They　clamoured　for　statements　when　they　saw　us　arrive；　but　we　didn't　have　anything　to　say　yet；　and　we　came　directly　up　here　to　the　site。'
　　Her　voice　trailed　away。　She　shoved　her　hands　into　the　pockets　of　her　jeans。
　　No　wind　was　at　play。　No　bees　moved　among　the　wildflowers。　The　surrounding　woods　were　full　of　motionless　monk　trees　that　had　taken　vows　of　silence。
　　Joe　lowered　his　gaze　from　the　silent　storm　clouds　black　with　throttled　thunder　to　the　crater　where　the　thunder　of　Flight　353　was　now　only　a　memory　held　deep　in　fractured　stone。
　　'I'm　okay；'　he　assured　Barbara；　though　his　voice　was　thick。　'Go　on。　I　need　to　know　what　it　was　like。'
　　After　another　half　minute　of　silence　during　which　she　gathered　her　thoughts　and　decided　how　much　to　tell　him；　Barbara　said；　'When　you　arrive　with　the　Go…Team；　the　first　impression　is　always　the　same。　Always。　The　smell。　You　never　ever　forget　the　stench。　Jet　fuel。　Smouldering　vinyl　and　plastic…even　the　new　blended　thermoplastics　and　the　phenolic　plastics　burn　under　extreme　conditions。　There's　the　stink　of　seared　insulation；　melted　rubber；　and。。。　roasted　flesh；　biological　wastes　from　the　ruptured　lavatory　holding　tanks　and　from　the　bodies。'
　　Joe　forced　himself　to　continue　looking　into　the　pit；　because　he　would　need　to　go　away　from　this　place　with　a　new　strength　that　would　make　it　possible　for　him　to　seek　justice　against　all　odds；　regardless　of　the　power　of　his　adversaries。
　　'Ordinarily；'　Barbara　said；　'in　even　terribly　violent　crashes；　you　see　some　pieces　of　wreckage　large　enough　to　allow　you　to　envision　the　aircraft　as　it　once　was。　A　wing。　The　empennage。　A　long　section　of　fuselage。　Depending　on　the　angle　of　impact；　you　sometimes　even　have　the　nose　and　cockpit　mostly　intact。'
　　'In　the　case　of　Flight　353？'
　　'The　debris　was　so　finely　chopped；　so　gnarled；　so　pacted　that　on　first　look　it　was　impossible　to　see　that　it　had　been　a　plane。　It　seemed　to　us　that　a　huge　portion　of　the　mass　must　be　missing。　But　it　was　all　here　in　the　meadow　and　scattered　some　distance　into　the　trees　uphill；　west　and　n