[War] US: Never a good time

[pentaj2 at Scranton.edu]

(OOC: I know this post is not my best. On a laptop, helping my mom 
(newly gimpy cuz she broke her ankle) does not create good writing.)
"Never a good time"
8 March 2013
Pres. John Williams
USA
===============
<Washington: 0630 EST>

Bzzzt.

"John, why did you set the alarm this early?" Kayleigh asked groggily.

Bzzzt.

"I didn't, though it's not early...Shit, that's not the alarm," 
responded the President, leaning over to kiss his wife.

10 seconds later, he had the phone to his ear.

"Williams speaking."

~Mary Waters in the sit room. Sir, FAA reports, confirmed by USCG and 
NTSB, that 30 minutes ago, a Japan Airlines 747 and Air China 747 both 
disappeared from the radar while overflying Midway Atoll.~

"Fuck."

~As a bonus, FWS says it looks like the aircraft both were able to 
splashdown near Midway, though the numbers don't look good.~

"Well, bright news."

~Barely. Sir, you don't need to show up down here. Right now, we're 
waiting for news. Go back to sleep.~

"That's unlikely."

~Then, good morning.~

"Thanks. Be mean, wake up SECSTATE. SECDEF, knowing his kids, is up 
already; call him and let him know. Tell State to wake up the Chinese 
and Japanese ambassadors."

~Yes sir. Sit room out.~

Kay looked at him. "How bad?" John told her. "Ouch."

"The fact that the aircraft *didn't* break up in midair is a good 
sign, but...Slim light."

Then, he kissed her again, placing a hand on her belly. "Mmm. How's 
mommy feeling this morning?"

"Good," she replied, giggling. "I think I felt movement last night."

"You did?" John asked, managing to smile.

"A little." A quick snuggle. "Now, let me go get ready for the day."

At that point, John grinned, getting up to get ready himself.

<40 minutes later>

The First Couple was having breakfast when a staffer popped up. Bob 
Winters, one of the sit room staffers, young and in his 20s. He'd run 
up.

As POTUS looked at him stop in front of the open door, he caught his 
breath as he said, "Sir...They've found survivors!"

A wide grin, high fives between Winters, POTUS, FLOTUS, and the 
military aide - a Navy officer this morning, a submarine officer by 
the dolphins on his chest.

"Good news. Okay. Which plane?" POTUS asked.

"Both, sir. The aft sections of both aircraft are goners, but we're 
finding folks from the wings forward."

"You're kidding."

"Nope. Sir, I did 6 years with the Coast Guard after college, before I 
got out to do grad school. The way this crash went, it smells like 
they clipped wings."

"My thought, too. News flooding in?"

"No, it's quiet, but we got that in two minutes ago."

"Then sit, Bob. Celebrate, have a bagel."

POTUS kept an eye on every one of the situation room staffers, and had 
taken the time to get to know many of them.

Thus, for the next 10 minutes, they talked.

It wouldn't, in any case, be too long before there was yet more news, 
this time once the usual morning briefings had finished up in the Oval 
Office.

"Sir, Tom Yardsley, sit room. USCG is saying that the pilot and co-
pilot of both the JAL and Air China aircraft were found alive. They're 
inbound to Honolulu by helo on medevac flights. They're asking what to 
do with em."

Williams tapped a quick message to the Secretary of State, who popped 
up on secure messaging.

"Okay," he said into the phone after SECSTATE, US Ambassador Beijing, 
and US Ambassador Tokyo joined the conversation. "First, focus on 
their medical care. Second: They're under 24-hour guard by US 
marshals, -especially- the Air China crew. Notify consulates, but 
state that access won't be provided, at a bare minimum, until the docs 
say it's okay. Regardless of what the docs say, they are not to be 
alone, to prevent witness tampering.

"Next: Chris, I see the bit you sent up about the Chinese wanting to 
join in. Well, ask NTSB and FAA. If they say no, if they're even 
unsure, then it's a no. Inform the Japanese of the same, and emphasize 
that the next comes from me: Safety of flight comes first, meaning 
that regardless of -anything-, when it comes to speaking to survivors, 
especially flight crew, they can get in line and wait until NTSB and 
FAA are done with them. If they don't like it, too bad. If they try to 
get around it, -every aircraft- of the offending country will be 
banned from US Airspace until the final report is issued in a few 
months.

"Also: US Embassy personnel will directly retrieve maintenance records 
for both aircraft. Every last scrap of paper, -unannounced-, 
immediately. Same with every scrap of info either country may have on 
flight crew members, living and dead, especially their logbooks and 
flight records. Those records will be sent to Washington within 24 
hours via diplomatic bag, where they'll be placed in NTSB custody. 
They are not to leave the custody of US personnel from the moment we 
recieve them - I want to maintain a chain of custody that could stand 
up to court challenge.

"Similarly: NTSB and FAA are -hands off- for all White House 
personnel. Not even the potential appearance of impropriety is 
affordable here."

With that, the orders were given.

"Keep me advised, gentlemen. There's never a *good* time for a plane 
crash, but this is uniquely horrible timing."
----
Actions:
1. Offer condolences via Press Secretary and ambassadors, to be 
followed up by POTUS in phone calls to the Head of State in each 
country, and to the Head of Government. (Off-camera, please.)
2. Inform Chinese and Japanese of the rules for this: A No access to 
survivors until NTSB and FAA investigators are done with them. B. If 
FAA *and* NTSB are both okay, and not even a tiny bit hesitant, you 
can send people. However, said people are under NTSB and FAA control 
*at all times*. C. The US investigation takes precedence.
3. Neither country speaks to survivors until FAA and NTSB are done, to 
eliminate the chance for "witness tampering". Particularly in case of 
flight crew.
4. Maintenance and crew records to be retrieved from airlines directly 
by US embassy personnel. Unbroken chain of custody, able to withstand 
a court challenge, will be maintained.
5. Compensation: We'll discuss it once the investigation is done with.
6. FAA will make damn sure to round up the ATCs on duty at the time - 
as per normal procedure, yes, but with more urgency.
7. After that is done: White House would like to know when significant 
milestones (finding of flight recorders, etc) are reached. However, WH 
staff are to be informed: Hands OFF the FAA and NTSB. State is to be 
informed to advise similar to PRC and Japanese embassies and 
consulates.
8. Intentions: This isn't to intimidate anybody, but to emphasize the 
priority the White House places on the integrity of this investigation.