CONFERENCE SCHEDULING – February 23, 2004

Amended Complaint. In response to my FOIA request to the CIA for the zoom-climb calculations, the CIA responded that it simply incorporated NTSB-supplied data into its animation, and that I must seek the data from the NTSB, as it was the "initiating agency." During the course of my suit against the NTSB, the NTSB denied being the initiating agency of all the "zoom-climb" records. So, we then filed new FOIA requests with the CIA and NTSB, followed by a new lawsuit. At the December 15, 2003 hearing, Judge Matz took the new case and instructed us to dismiss the older case. On January 23, the CIA and NTSB filed their Answer. Boeing will intervene as a defendant, as it did in the 2002 case. So, the lawsuit is proceeding against three defendants – Lahr versus the NTSB, the CIA, and Boeing.

The NTSB says that the Boeing data went straight to the CIA. The CIA says that it received its data from the NTSB. Boeing says that it sent data to both agencies. The parties do not agree about where and how the CIA acquired the data and calculations used for its zoom-climb video, but they do agree about one thing. They do not want to release their secret data and zoom-climb calculations to the public.

Schedule. Our scheduling conference has been set for April 5, 2004, and the briefing schedule and our next hearing date will be set at that conference. We will keep you posted.

Facts. The exceptionally good eyewitnesses in other aircraft saw the flaming debris fall downward out of the initial fireball and separate into two flaming streams. That indicates the wing probably failed in the initial explosion. Part of the wing's front spar was found at the beginning of the debris field. As the nose and cockpit separated from the aircraft, all of the control cables, electrical wires, and hydraulic control lines were torn apart in random sequence. In addition, the nose and explosion debris probably did collateral damage to the engines and control surfaces as they departed.

CIA Analyst #1 stated that he conceived the zoom-climb at 10:00 p.m. on December 30, 1996. His objective was to negate the eyewitness missile testimony. The FBI and the NTSB were promptly notified, and the zoom-climb concept was adopted by all three agencies. During the next 10 months, the three agencies cooperated in the production of the CIA-video-animation of the zoom-climb (the cartoon), using still-secret Boeing data. The other parties to the investigation did not participate in this project. In fact, it is doubtful that the other parties were even aware of this triple-agency maneuver to steer the investigation away from the missile theory.

Dennis Crider's Declaration. We have been considering some of the material filed by the Department of Justice, which is representing the NTSB, particularly the declaration of NTSB Specialist Dennis Crider, the author of the Trajectory Analysis of TWA Flight 800 (the zoom-climb). As you read Mr. Crider's attached declaration, please consider the following points.

     To buttress this imaginary zoom-climb theory, the agencies turned to the computer. A single individual within the NTSB, Dennis Crider, was assigned the task of developing a computer simulation for the zoom-climb. The data that he used, the assumptions that he made, and the computer program itself are all secret. Nevertheless, the preconceived conclusion was used for the CIA video and the subsequent NTSB videos. I submit that hypothetical conclusions based on secret evidence are not the way to conduct an accident investigation.

     You will note in Mr. Crider's declaration that he developed the computer program in a format intuitive to him alone. There is no instruction book or online guide to help anyone else use the program. There is no hard copy of the program. No independent party has verified any of his computer work.

     Only Mr. Crider knows what data was entered into his secret program from the secret list of data provided by Boeing. Only Mr. Crider knows what assumptions he made regarding the aerodynamic condition of the aircraft after the nose was blown off.

     Although never stated, Mr. Crider had to assume that the wing stayed intact and was still strong enough to sustain a sudden pitch-up without failing or flexing asymmetrically. He had to assume that the control surfaces were undamaged and that they did not go into any unusual positions as the controls were randomly severed. He had to assume that the engines remained in balanced thrust to avoid a violent yaw. None of these highly unlikely assumptions are justified.

     Mr. Crider states on page 5, paragraph 13, "I learned that Boeing was providing this information to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), as well as developing its own basic estimate of the flight path, so Boeing then included the NTSB on the routing of these data." However, on the same day the CIA video was shown on national TV, Boeing issued a disclaimer in a press release stating,

"…Boeing was not involved in the production of the video shown today… we are not aware of the data that was used to develop the video. The video's explanation of the eyewitness observations can best be assessed by the eyewitnesses themselves…"

One thing seems clear. Boeing did not believe that its data was consistent with the CIA zoom-climb presentation. Boeing is right, the eyewitnesses are the best assessment of what they actually saw.

     Mr. Crider seems to be technically qualified. He followed the directions of his superiors. The decision to contravene normal NTSB accident investigation procedures was made by NTSB Chairman Jim Hall and NTSB Safety Director, Bernard Loeb.

Comments. These agencies have not produced a single eyewitness who agrees with the zoom-climb distortion of their testimony. Several eyewitnesses were presented in the CIA video, but none of them were identified. The CIA video then explained why these eyewitnesses didn't see what they thought they saw. We have located most of these key eyewitnesses, and they flatly reject the CIA distortion of their testimony. In fact, several of them have so stated in signed affidavits for my lawsuit. Some of them even took out a full-page ad in the Washington Times asking to be heard at the NTSB public hearing. They were denied. Incredibly, not a single eyewitness was allowed to testify at either public hearing.

There is absolutely no physical evidence for the zoom-climb. The CIA zoom-climb exists only in the imagination of certain individuals.

Ray