The Times Union (Albany, NY)

May 12, 2002 Sunday

In Emery crash investigation, mechanics called overworked;

Pilot Kevin Stables, a Capital Region resident, died in the 2000 crash

Mark Helm; Times Union Washington Bureau

A former maintenance director for Emery World Airlines on Friday told federal officials investigating the deadly crash of one of the cargo hauler's aircraft that Emery mechanics were often overworked and fatigued.

David Ungemach, the former director of line maintenance for Emery, described working conditions for his employees in the second day of a hearing into the crash of an Emery DC-8 cargo plane near Rancho Cordova, Calif., that killed all three crew members.

Investigators believe the Feb. 16, 2000, accident was caused by a part missing from the aircraft's control system. "Many of these men were working more than 16 hours a shift for a number of days in a row, which I felt was too much," Ungemach told members of a National Transportation Safety Board panel. Ungemach insisted, however, that Emery mechanics were "top-notch" and that they appeared to have followed all safety requirements while inspecting the DC-8 that crashed moments after takeoff.

Federal safety officials had noted problems with Emery's airline division before and after the crash.

During a heated exchange between Bruce Robbins, former director of engineering for Emery, and John Goglia, head of the NTSB hearing, Robbins said: "Anytime you put a company under the microscope like Emery, you're going to find some warts." Goglia shot back, "Warts. We found cancer."

On Thursday, Frank Hildrup, an NTSB crash investigator, said the accident was probably caused by a missing bolt from the control system. The bolt, he said, should have connected the pilot's controls to the airplane's right elevator, which is part of the horizontal tail wing. When the elevators move up or down they deflect air, causing the plane's nose to point up or down.

Because of the missing bolt, the right elevator of the DC-8 was disconnected, causing the plane to lose balance, said Hildrup, who emphasized that the NTSB's findings were preliminary. He also noted that along with causing the right elevator to become disconnected, the missing bolt also caused the instrument panel in the cockpit to incorrectly show that the elevator was working.

Kevin Stables, the pilot of doomed Emery Flight 17, began struggling with the controls after takeoff from Mather Airport, according to a transcript of the cockpit voice recorder released by the NTSB. The transcript describes the frantic, two-minute struggle immediately after takeoff at 7:48 p.m.

Less than a minute into the air, first officer George Land, 35, of Placerville, Calif., told the control tower, "We're going back." Moments later, Stables said the aircraft had an "extreme" center of gravity problem. For the next two minutes, the men, along with flight engineer Russell Hicks, 38, of Sparks, Nev., fought to keep control of the plane, which was bound for Dayton, Ohio.

As the aircraft lurched toward the ground, Land yelled, "We're sinking. We're going down guys." Stables, 43, of Berlin, Rensselaer County, tried to level out. An unidentified voice from the cockpit yelled, "Pull up, pull up, pull up!" Land then said, "Power," and a few seconds later, Stables said, "All right, all right, all right."

Land then interrupted, saying, "OK, so we're going back up." At that point, Stables attempted an emergency maneuver to stabilize the plane. "Roll out," he told the others. Swearing could be heard in the background. The crew again fought to control the aircraft as it lost altitude.

"We're gonna have to land fast," Land shouted. A minute later, Stables told Land to "bring it around." "Pull up" were the last words heard from the cockpit. Moments later, the four-engine jet slammed belly-first into the Insurance Auto Auctions salvage yard, about two miles east of Mather Airport.

The plane burst into flames, setting more 100 cars on fire. Because of the crew's remarks about center of gravity problems, investigators initially suspected that the DC-8 crashed because a cargo container shifted, throwing the aircraft out of balance. But on Thursday, Hildrup ruled out that possibility, saying the aircraft's cargo was "well within limits for weight and center of gravity."

Last August, Emery agreed to ground its fleet after the Federal Aviation Administration found what it claimed to be more than 100 safety violations in special inspections over 18 months. In September, Emery agreed to pay a $1 million fine and take a long list of corrective steps aimed at resuming operations.

Emery is a unit of CNF Inc., a transportation based company in Palo Alto, Calif. Emery continues to ship freight but no longer uses its own planes.