00-12-04          0700    Morning routine.

            First thing this morning, Cst. KERR came to me to apologize for what occurred on Friday.  He said that I had been ‘ambushed’, and that he had no idea that it was going to happen.  He indicated that Insp. LATHEM had come to him and had coaxed a number of things from him.  He said that he did not like what had happened, and that he would not trust LATHEM again.  I told him that it wasn’t his fault, that LATHEM was pitting one member against another over here at the hangar to suit himself.  It’s no way to manage people, and once it is known, no one will want to work for him.

            A little later, Duane COOPER came to me with similar comments that he was not happy with what had transpired after having information coaxed from him by Insp. LATHEM.  He also made some interesting observations from the meeting with TSB.  He said that he personally questioned FOOT’s argument that he was looking for the source of the fire.  It seems that so long as it was an arcing even, he will put forth the effort, but did not want anything to do with the magnesium problem as a potential source.  The other was GERDEN’s comment about safety concerns versus charges.  COOPER indicated that he felt that GERDEN had much more information than what we know about, and that things were being hidden.  It seems that the harder they try to keep things contained, the more other people will doubt them.

            It’s interesting that Insp. LATHEM has now lost the trust of both of these constables, and they indicated that they were extremely embarrassed during the meeting with TSB, especially to have this brought out in front of another agency in this manner.  A very poor performance, indeed!  It is also interesting to note that Peter PURCHASE had called COOPER to obtain information from him, and that it certainly had to have been passed on to LATHEM.  LATHEM had informed me that PURCHASE was one who had complained about my actions recently here at the hangar.  He has been over once in the past several months, so what does he know of what is transpiring.  Another point is the fact that KERR & COOPER were mentioned by LATHEM as two of those who had complained to him about my actions.  I sincerely doubt that, as I have worked daily with those two for over a year, and I feel that LATHEM intimidated and connived the information from them, as they indicated to me.

…..

            Most of the morning and part of the afternoon dealt with the press conference.  The TSB Chairman was in, and nearly 100 press people were present.  Very low-key security was maintained by KERR & COOPER, with the TSB people being the main focus people. 

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            While looking at the blankets, John GARSTANG made the comment that they were not normally found in the galley, which implied that they were in the first class area and that there had been definite burn through or hot melts dropping on items in the area.

            John GARSTANG, without any prompting, discussed the TSB meeting of 00 DEC 01 and said that he was very embarrassed over what had happened in the meeting, and that it was not handled at all well.  He also said that he did not agree with Jim FOOT with regards to the minute amounts of magnesium being an insignificant event.  He said that when investigating explosive devices, trace evidence is minute in nature, and the pits caused in metal surfaces by the high velocity of minute fragments are microscopic in size, but gigantic in significance.  He also indicated that improvised explosive devices, as the name implies, are homemade and not dependable.  Many such devices have been found to ignite and burn rather than ignite and explode.  C4, the military explosive, is also used as a fuel for fires, although dangerous to do so.  He said that he was going to discuss these topics with GERDEN, because of what was said in the meeting regarding causes.  He did not agree with some of the comments made, but he did not enter an objection at the time because it would have been seen as a disagreement (contrary to the way the RCMP acted during the meeting, I might add).

            John GARSTANG also advised that he was working on the correspondence for GERDEN requesting my continued stay at the hangar.  John and Don ENNS are both talking about going through ‘J’ Hangar boxes to look for more pieces, including the blankets.

            Don ENNS made a comment to me regarding the magnesium in the wire beads.  He said that when the subject first was discovered, the TSB had a meeting over the issue.  During that meeting he made the suggestion that the TSB should have nothing whatsoever to do with the magnesium as it implies a criminal act.  His reasoning was that instead it should be turned over to the RCMP for them to investigate.  He said that there is nothing wrong with a parallel criminal investigation, so long as it does not interfere with their sole right to a safety investigation.  GERDEN and VANCE were at the meeting, but Don said that obviously his advice was not followed.