01-12-17       0700    Morning routine.  …..

            Sent out a message to Neil and Insp. TANNER advising them I will be out of town for the next five days and spoke with Neil on the phone.  I advised him that John GARSTANG is seeking another extension for me until mid-January due to the amount of work yet to be done.  He didn’t seem too happy about it, but said that we had already arranged that I would be tied up until then with notes and reports, etc.

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            It was also learned today that John has kept Vic GERDEN fully informed of the potential aspects of the FAA burn tests, and the implications should the tests and the computer software show that there was insufficient material overhead to create the molten frame damage that we have seen in the crash exhibits.  However, I have no way of knowing if GERDEN has informed LATHEM or TANNER of these implications.  The word that I get from the TSB people is that GERDEN and LATHEM do not communicate well together.  I suspect that they have not discussed the matter, because if they had, I would expect to be kept on the file until it is determined one way or the other.  As for me supplying the information, I have done so on numerous times in the past and have been told to keep out of it.