Reference is made to post number 650, above, which will be discussed further here. Specifically, the contents of pages 143 thru 225 of FBI Document "SE 164-81" are of interest.
Pages 143 - 225 contain the radio transcripts of NWA 305's contacts with the Seattle, Oakland, and Reno Air Traffic Control Centers as it flew from Seattle to Reno and cover the time period of approximately 7:36 PM PST, the take off time from Seattle, to 11:22 PM PST, when the flight crew turned off the radios and exited the aircraft in Reno.
It should be noted that the Oakland and Reno ATC transcripts are complete, but the Seattle ATC transcripts contain 19 areas of deletions. Those 19 deletions include all the ATC information that would pinpoint the location of the airliner during the time it was under control of the Seattle Center. And that information is precisely what the present writer has been seeking through FOIA requests with the FBI and FAA.
Pages 143 through 225, inclusive, consist of 83 pieces of paper. And pages 143 and 193 have now been received from the FBI as a result of an FOIA. Subtracting those two pages leaves 81 pieces of paper. And that is precisely the same number of pages that the FBI has described as FAA generated and has referred those pages back to the FAA for their review and action.
This page counting exercise strongly suggests that the 81 pages the FBI referred back to the FAA includes the redacted Seattle ATC transcripts rather than the complete set of un-redacted transcripts.
The first paragraph of page 193 is redacted to delete the name of the Seattle FAA official who provided the FBI with transcriptions of their communications with NWA 305. However, his position is described and this official has to be Gerald H. Oaterkamp, Chief, Seattle ARTCC. [There is a remote possibility that the last name could start with a "D" rather than an "O".]
Page 194 is a transmittal page prepared by Mr. Oaterkamp and contains two certifications. The first certification reads:
"I HEREBY CERTIFY that the following is a true transcription of the recorded conversation pertaining to the subject incident. Signed, Gerald H. Oaterkamp, typed, Gerald H. Oaterkamp, Chief, Seattle ARTCC."
The second certification reads:
"I certify that this is a true copy of the original which is on file at this office. Signed, Gerald H. Oaterkamp, typed, Chief, Seattle Center."
Mr. Oaterkamp does not list the number of pages of transcripts that he is transmitting to the FBI. However, the redacted transcript pages in "SE 164-81" are pages 195 through 200, inclusive, or six pieces of paper.
In the above, Mr. Oaterkamp is stating that he has had a transcription of the communications between the Seattle Center and NWA 305 made, that he is transmitting it to the FBI, and that he is keeping the original transcription in his files in Seattle. It is simply not believable that he would be transmitting a document with 19 areas of redactions. Consequently, the FBI must have made the redactions in pages 195 through 200.
The redacted information is already "public" since it was transmitted over aircraft radios with other aircraft, as well as the general public, listening in as the airliner headed to Reno. There are no redactions of similar information in the Oakland and Reno Center radio transcripts. And none of the transcripts contain any restricted or classified information.
The end result of the FOIA requests mentioned earlier is to obtain the original transcription that Mr. Oaterkamp prepared on this incident in his capacity as Chief of the Seattle ATC Center. The original transcription was probably retained in the FAA files and may have eventually been sent to a federal file depository under what ever records management program the FAA used. The information sought will probably not exceed 20 pages in length.
Does anyone have any information about the FAA's records management program as it existed in the Seattle area in 1971? Since there were no restrictions on the records sought, it may well be that individuals involved with the incident kept a copy for their own personal use and information. Any help or suggestions on this would be greatly appreciated.
Robert99
