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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1988)
846-5273 >(i« 'I! 5-9p, ed Potatoo, i, salad, Texas st & Iced tea. ^846-5273 uesday, November 1,1988 The Battalion Page 11 Delta pilot says he should have pplied power 36/889 tR^ der »nly n. 1 WASHINGTON (AP) — The pilot of Ita Flight 1141, which crashed on akeoff near Dallas last August, told in- /estigators he thought he could fly his oeing 727 out of trouble but said he should have applied full power much sooner, according to government docu ments. The plane crashed several thousand feet beyond the runway and burst into flames, killing 14 of the 108 people iboard. The Delta Air Lines flight was bound from Dallas-Fort Worth to Salt Lake City, Utah. Documents released Monday by the National Transportation Safety Board said that while Flight 1141 had no prob lems as it rolled down the runway, it en countered almost immediate trouble after liftoff and rolled violently from left to right. Seconds after Capt. Larry Davis, 49, a veteran Delta pilot, raised the plane off the ground there was an unusual “snap” noise followed by a vibration of the con trol column, a warning that the aircraft was about to stall, according to the docu ments. Davis told investigators he first thought they would make it but then more bangs were heard and he had a sen sation the plane was losing power and “pulling us backward . . . .” But according to the documents made public Monday, Davis did not apply full engine power for about 22 seconds after the first unusual noise and nearly 20 sec onds after the stall warning system began to activate. Even after a series of five engine com pressor stalls and an exclamation by Da vis that “we’re not gonna make it” the captain did not call for “full power” for another eight seconds. The first sound of impact came less than a second later. According to aviation experts, the nor mal procedure when an aircraft is about to stall during takeoff — when a plane is dangerously close to the ground — is to apply maximum power. In an interview with investigators from his hospital bed several days after the accident, Davis, according to the documents, said: “In retrospect, I should have pushed up full power immediately” — when there was an indication of stal ling. Although Davis said he sensed a loss ofenginc power, investigators, after clo sely examtniftg the thfcd'engineS, have ruled out any mechanical engine failure. It is widely believed the compressor stalls were caused by an interruption of proper air flow, which could be caused by a plane flying at an unusual angle. Davis acknowledged to investigators that after the plane rotated off the runway he continued to pull back the control col umn, raising the nose of the aircraft to an unusually high angle. At one point the angle was so severe he no longer could see over the aircraft’s nose, the docu ments said. V0 9 aV , Woo"' a\ .lP ar yes' torV 00 Davis said he did so because he feared imminent impact with the ground. The investigation continues to focus on the possibility that the flight crew failed to set the plane’s flaps properly, inhibiting its lift. The NTSB previously has said that the flaps were found in a re tracted position in the wreckage as was the cockpit lever controlling the flaps. Investigators also have closely exam ined two “click” sounds on the cockpit voice recorder tape of flight 1141 to de termine whether they might have been co-pilot Carey Kirkland setting the flaps. But one document released Monday con cluded that after sophisticated sound: tests it was determined that the two' clicks do not match sounds of the actual setting of flaps on a similar aircraft. In fact, said the NTSB document, no noise pattern could be found on the entire cockpit voice recorder tape that matched the pattern heard when flaps were set on a test aircraft. On the other hand, the same tape also shows — as had previously been made known — that the co-pilot acknowledged that the flaps were in the correct position during a routine pre-flight checklist. “Flaps,” the flight engineer Steven Judd was heard to say. “Fifteen, fifteen, green light,” re sponded Kirkland, 37, referring to the proper flap degree setting. Kirkland has told investigators he re calls nothing after the plane departed from the gate. Court rules prayer case as frivolous NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Prisons don’t have to supply free prayer shawls, sermon tapes or religious books to in mates, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Ap peals ruled Monday. The court upheld U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice’s decision that Donald Ray Frank’s lawsuit against the Texas Department of Corrections should be dismissed as frivolous. “We agree with the District Court’s observation that ‘(t)here cannot possibly be any constitutional or legal require ment that the government provide materials for every religion and sect practiced in this diverse country,”’ the 5th Circuit said. Frank, who is Jewish, claimed his freedom of religion was violated because the department wouldn’t give him reli gious materials including six books, a prayer shawl, sermon tapes and a kippah — the skullcap also called a yarmulke. The 5th Circuit noted that Frank does not claim he is not allowed to worship or that he is discriminated against because he is Jewish. Actor Houseman dies in home at 86 MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — John Houseman, the producer who terrified millions with the “War of the Worlds” and won an Oscar for intimidating his students as the imperious law professor in “The Paper Chase,” died Monday. He was 86. Houseman died at his seaside home before dawn, said Ivan Goff, a family friend and scriptwriter. Margo Harley, a longtime friend and colleague, said he had spinal cancer. Houseman brought a magnetic eloqu ence to the role of the curmudgeon and gained wide fame while in his 70s as Professor Charles W. Kingsfield in “The Paper Chase,” a role he first played in the 1973 film and then in the television series. He parlayed his fame and his distinc tive speaking style into a lucrative series of commercial endorsements, including ads for the investment firm Smith, Bar ney in which he growled, “They make money the old-fashioned way — they EARRNNN it.” “Behind that austere public posture was the warmest, most generous man in the world — with his time, his remarka ble intelligence, his insight,” writer Da vid Rintels, who collaborated with Houseman on the movie “Gideon’s Trumpet” and the play “Clarence Dar- row,” said. Actor Kirk Douglas said, “He was a gentleman of the old school, polite and courtly. He had wonderful manners. He was an unusual character and I’m going to miss him.” While he was best known for his work on screen. Houseman’s passions were for the theater, writing and teaching. His acting students included Kevin Kline, Robin Williams, Christopher Reeve, Patti LuPone and David Ogden Stiers. Houseman appears in the new Woody Allen film, “Another Woman,” in which Stiers plays a younger Houseman. At the time of his death. Houseman had achieved what he told friends was his ultimate dream: the establishment of The Acting Company, a touring theat rical ensemble of the nation’s brightest talents. Houseman co-produced the “War of the Worlds” radio drama for Orson Welles. He later apologized for the na tionwide panic induced by the program about invading Martians, which aired 50 years ago Sunday. Born Jacques Haussmann in Romania, the veteran actor, director and producer launched his career in 1934 as the direc tor of a Broadway production. Cousin of slain child charged with murder FORT WORTH (AP) — A murder charge has been filed against a step- cousin in the slaying of Michael Toston, a 5-year-old who was bludgeoned and dumped in a field near his grandmother’s east-side apartment complex either Oct. 22 or 23, police said. Homicide Sgt. Paul Kratz said Sirron Hicks, 18, was charged Monday. Michael had last been seen about noon Oct. 22. He was reported missing about 90 minutes later by his mother, who had come to pick him up after he had stayed overnight with his grandmother. The boy’s body was discovered by a cousin the morning of Oct. 23, less than 100 yards from his grandmother’s front door in a wooded area that had been searched the previous night by neigh bors, patrol officers and police dogs, Kratz said. Kratz said police had been puzzled why someone would dump the body in an area that already had been searched by police and neighbors. NEW T-BUCKS HELP LOWER THE COST OF HIGHER EDUCATION. TEXAS T BUCK Texas T •7''' DISCOUNT GROCERY ONE T BUCK PER VISIT GOOD FOR $1.00 OFF TEXAS T BRAND PRODUCTS WITH $20.00 MINIMUM PURCHASE ON NEXT VISIT - k i.1) November 22,1988 EXPIRATION DATE Tuition and textbooks don’t leave much in the budget for your dinner table. That’s why you should turn to Texas T The store with the absolute, no-dispute lowest everyday grocery prices in town. And with new Texas T-Bucks, you can save an extra dollar on money-saving T-Brand items with any $20 minimum purchase. T-Brands offer the same high quality as nation ally advertised brands, but at substantial savings. Here’s a sample: Texas T Bread 3/$1.00 Texas T Laundry Detergent, 42 oz 99C Texas T Coffee 1 lb $1.99 Texas Soda, 2-liter 55C Texas T Snacks, 15 oz package 99C (Potato Chips, Corn Chips, Tortilla Chips Cheese Curls) So clip the introductory T-Buck above, and bring it to Texas T in Bryan (or pick one up at the store) before November 22. Texas T DISCOUNT GROCERY SAVINGS ASBIG AS TEXAS! CLASS'H 1118 ‘INYADS. BUT REAL HEAVYWEIGHTS WHEN RESULTS REALLY COUNT. o matter what you've go to say or sell, our Classi fieds can help you do the big job. 4301 Texas Avenue Beverly Estates Shopping Center Bryan Phone: 846-8668 Hours: 9am-8pm Mon-Sat; 10am-6pm Sun Battalion Classified! 845-2611 The Association of Fo i*ni ci* Students Full Sieiilc -■ i Induction Bouquet Wednesday Sl Thursday, November 9 & lO, 1999 6:60 p.m. MSC room 224? All December graduates are invited to attend. Complimentary tickets will be available as long as they last, November 1-3 in the lobby of the Clayton W. Williams, dr. Alumni Center This is your invitation to attend the formal induction of Class of ’88 graduates. TICKETS OIVEA OA T FIRST COME—FIRST SERVED BASIS Student I.D. Required to Pick-up Ticket