here is a couple photo's I don't think have been seen much, if any. one is the rear stairs during the test but a pic I haven't seen. the second link is the cockpit crew during the testing..and eattle January 6, 1972...too big to post. You are not allowed to view links. Register or LoginYou are not allowed to view links. Register or LoginYou are not allowed to view links. Register or Login
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Loginhere is a couple photo's I don't think have been seen much, if any. one is the rear stairs during the test but a pic I haven't seen. the second link is the cockpit crew during the testing..and eattle January 6, 1972...too big to post. You are not allowed to view links. Register or LoginYou are not allowed to view links. Register or LoginYou are not allowed to view links. Register or LoginHere, a bit lighter. Cant push it any further in jpeg format without distortions. Any names of these people?
thin, like a decal. the picture I posted looks to be about the same size. I guess I should say similar to a decal but more stable since it's plastic. Hominid, email sent to me in 2014...The placard was on the outside of a panel door that was adjacent to the normal airstair control handle. It was "stuck" there with adhesive. It was probably made of metal foil, but might have been plastic. Inside that door was the control that the placard related to, the control for the "emergency" (pneumatic) airstair extension system. The control was a red handle that had to be pulled hard in order to break a lockwire. NWA did not want people pulling the handle by mistake thinking it to be the normal way of dropping the stair. This is why it was inside a "cabinet" and had the lockwire. They didn't want it to be used for a routine dropping of the airstair because using this system would damage the stair such that it would have to be repaired before it could be closed and locked for flight.
You are not allowed to view links. Register or LoginYou are not allowed to view links. Register or Loginhere is a couple photo's I don't think have been seen much, if any. one is the rear stairs during the test but a pic I haven't seen. the second link is the cockpit crew during the testing..and eattle January 6, 1972...too big to post. You are not allowed to view links. Register or LoginYou are not allowed to view links. Register or LoginYou are not allowed to view links. Register or LoginHere, a bit lighter. Cant push it any further in jpeg format without distortions. Any names of these people?The fellow in the foreground looking at the flight engineer's panel is probably Harald Anderson who was the flight engineer on the hijacked aircraft. The gray haired fellow in the right side in the co-pilot's seat may be Soderland. Rataczak was suppose to be the pilot on these tests so he would be in the left side in the pilot's seat but there is no way to identify him in that picture.Are there any more pictures of the cockpit crew?
You are not allowed to view links. Register or LoginYou are not allowed to view links. Register or LoginYou are not allowed to view links. Register or Loginhere is a couple photo's I don't think have been seen much, if any. one is the rear stairs during the test but a pic I haven't seen. the second link is the cockpit crew during the testing..and eattle January 6, 1972...too big to post. You are not allowed to view links. Register or LoginYou are not allowed to view links. Register or LoginYou are not allowed to view links. Register or LoginHere, a bit lighter. Cant push it any further in jpeg format without distortions. Any names of these people?The fellow in the foreground looking at the flight engineer's panel is probably Harald Anderson who was the flight engineer on the hijacked aircraft. The gray haired fellow in the right side in the co-pilot's seat may be Soderland. Rataczak was suppose to be the pilot on these tests so he would be in the left side in the pilot's seat but there is no way to identify him in that picture.Are there any more pictures of the cockpit crew?The left seat guy is older than Rataczak. Is this photo from the TAG team test flight? Here is the tag team. Rataczak wasnt on that test flight.
WSHS sent me 49 pictures. I was looking for the possibility of getting a picture of the stairs that could show the two sets of compartments to lower the stairs. two photo's show the normal release door open and possibly covering the emergency release cover panel where the placard would be. since the door was blocking the view it didn't show the placard missing or the door. not many 727's had this option. most had the free fall release. The information Flyjack found shows many airlines failed to train employee's properly with the two systems. Tina showed Cooper how to lower them but he still had trouble or was confused since they only dropped a few feet. he either found the second panel or it didn't exist on the aircraft and he finally went down the stairs. the panel must come off to access the emergency release. if the placard went out the back with the panel attached. what happened to the panel. if Cooper used the option, why did it take two days to notice a hole in the wall? 305 had the stairs lined with panels vs canvas. I don't believe any testing was done two days later that conflicts with the newspaper article stating they noticed it missing during the testing in January. the stairs were not locked as far as I know. a pressure bump would not of occurred if they were locked. Cowlitz county contacted me yesterday with zero results. she said they don't have many records of anything that far back. You are not allowed to view links. Register or LoginYou are not allowed to view links. Register or Login
Al Lee was Chief Pilot AND Sea-Tac Ground Chief for NWO? Whoa.BTW, Shut, I loved the pix of Seattle-Tacoma airport in 1971. What a sleepy little airport. Sure ain't that way, nowadays...
If people are confused about the controls on the inside of the stairs. I made a diagram showing what it looks like. I hope the size fits along with the words in the photo. I'm working off a 100 inch diagonal screen.
