New robot to search for clues in EgyptAir crash
By Denise Lavoie
The Associated Press
NEWPORT, R.I, — A tougher,
nimbler underwater robot with a
seven-jointed titanium arm was
lowered into the sea Monday to
find the black boxes that may an
swer what doomed EgyptAir
Flight 990.
Searchers hoped the Magnum
would succeed where another ro
bot, the Deep Drone, failed after
exploring the murky, sunless
depths for over two days.
More than a week after the
plane plunged from 33,000 feet
and killed all 217 people aboard,
the cockpit voice and flight data
recorders that could hold the most
complete picture of what went
wrong remained 270 feet beneath
the Atlantic.
The black boxes are amid
wreckage, and whenever a piece of
it is moved, sediment gets stirred
up and obscures visibility.
Investigators are looking into all
possibilities, including mechani
cal failure, human error and sabo
tage.
Many grieving relatives left for
home after a memorial service on
the rocky shore Sunday. Many ex
pressed frustration because they
were leaving without answers
about the cause of the crash.
“I feel like they could be doing
more,” said Rhonda Dawoud, a
resident of Woodbridge, Va., who
lost her cousin in the tragedy.
Family members were also left
knowing they may never be able to
retrieve the remains of their loved
ones, which have yet to be identi
fied because they are in fragments.
“Of course, the information we
want to know is about human re
mains, and they don’t have an
swers for us,” said Ina Abdrabu, a
legal assistant from Los Angeles
who lost her husband, a nephew
and a grand-nephew in the crash.
Rhode Island’s attorney general
filed a petition Monday in court
seeking authority to issue certifi
cates declaring that the crash vic
tims are presumed dead. Family
members have requested such a
measure to begin clearing up legal
matters.
The Magnum has a seven-joint
ed arm that can be manipulated
from its ship to grasp the
recorders. It also has a cage that
protects it from the heavy seas.
The civilian salvage ship Car
olyn Chouest, which carries the
Magnum, can also withstand
rougher conditions than the USS
Grapple, which carried Deep
Drone, because the Carolyn
Chouest can float in a fixed spot
without dropping anchor.
Both the Deep Drone and the
Magnum are remote-controlled
underwater vessels about the size
of a minivan.
Investigators said it is too dan
gerous to send divers to get the
black boxes. The divers’ air hoses
could get severed or tangled in the
wreckage. Also, the water is so
deep that divers can stay down for
only 30 minutes and must then
spend four hours decompressing.
If the investigators cannot re
trieve the recorders, they could
seek digital computers on the air
craft’s two engines.
The Pratt & Whitney engines on
the Boeing 767 are each equipped
with computers that communicate
commands from the cockpit to the
engine. Although those computers
record some information, mostly
for maintenance purposes, they
are not built to survive crashes and
do not contain the scope of data
held by the flight data recorder.
“They have not played a large
role in previous crash investiga
tions,” said Mark Sullivan,
spokesman for Pratt & Whitney.
All wreckage is being treated as
evidence in case the disaster turns
out to be the result of a crime. All
the pieces are being tagged and se
cured by FBI and National Trans
portation Safety Board personnel
working side-by-side on boats.
Officials say hazardous waste control uncertain in 2000
PORTLAND — Worried if the
milk will stay fresh through the
turning of the new millennium?
Don’t, says Fred Meyer stores —
they store up to 25,000 pounds of
ammonia, a corrosive liquefied
gas, to refrigerate its Portland
dairy.
But that brings up another
problem.
The giant supermarket chain is
not the only company in the met
ropolitan area that makes, stores,
distributes, uses and discards haz
ardous waste in large amounts.
Boise Cascade keeps as much
as 720,000 pounds of chlorine, a
corrosive gas, to bleach pulp at its
St. Helen’s pulp-and-paper mill.
And SEH America Inc. stores
up to 46,000 pounds of hydrogen
chloride, a corrosive liquefied gas,
to make the wafers that become
computer chips.
The problem is that no one —
not the government, the public or
even the industries themselves —
knows for sure how many of these
and other facilities are vulnerable
to Y2K problems.
The U.S. Environmental Pro
tection Agency in August warned
companies that the Y2K computer
bug could lead to the accidental
release of hazardous chemicals
and other pollutants into the air,
water and soil.
And according to the Interna
tional Association of Fire Fighters,
the hazardous materials industry
is the real wild card of Y2K.
“It’s a bunch of hype,” said the
operator of a small Portland compa
ny that makes cleaning and sanita
tion supplies. Of his own business,
he said: “It’s all under control.”
In contrast, a small chemical
manufacturer in Tualatin has in
stalled new Y2K-compliant equip
ment with manual overrides in
case of computer or power failure.
Noting that one of the compa
ny’s PCs crashed when its date
was rolled forward to 2000, the
president says of his doubting in
dustry peers: “They may be in for
a surprise.”
At the other extreme are large,
investor-owned companies such
as Elf Atochem North America
Inc., which zaps table salt and wa
ter into a variety of chemicals at
its downtown Portland plant.
The company’s Y2K team has
identified and replaced all embed
ded chips that had date functions.
The team also will have tested all
computer systems three times by
the end of the year and will put all
but two manufacturing processes
on standby into 2000.
But the majority of Oregon’s
chemical handlers are private
businesses, and that makes the
task of assessing the industry’s
overall readiness difficult.
In the Portland area alone, there
are more than 3,000 facilities that
emit pollution or handle hazardous
waste, and 125 or so businesses that
keep large quantities of gaseous and
liquid ammonia on hand.
Chemical Distributors Inc.,
which operates warehouses is
one small company that finished
its Y2K work in mid-1999.
President Donald J. Cruickshank
says now that the company would
have run into computer trouble if
it hadn’t made the Y2K fixes. He
admits still worrying a tiny bit
about whether the railroads will be
able to deliver his inventory.
The Associated Press
Want to build great software?
We’re looking for a few more University of
Oregon graduates like Chad Busche
If you want your ideas to count, enjoy writing
challenging code and want to use your creativity to design
leading-edge distributed apps using the newest tools
and techniques, have we got a job for you! We need more
team players like Chad, who can think for themselves
and are driven by the need to build great software that
makes life easier for our users. We’d love to hear from
you if you have graduated with a BSCS, or are working
towards a BSCS and will graduate in the coming winter
or spring, and if you know C++ and object-oriented
analysis, design and programming. Knowledge of
database theory or Web programming is a plus.
Timberline Software Corporation is the leading developer
of accounting and cost estimating software for the
construction and property management industries, with
more than 20,000 customers worldwide. For five years
running, Forbes magazine has included us in its “200
Best Small Companies in America” list.
Located in the Portland metropolitan area, Timberline
combines state-of-the-art tools and projects with a
relaxed work environment, flexible hours, competitive
salaries, continuing education, a 401 (k) plan, profit
sharing and stock options.
Don't miss us on November 12th
Visit the Career Center at Hendricks Hall to sign up for
the Timberline recruiting day on Nov. 12. You can also
mail, fax or email your cover letter and resume to:
Timberline Software Corporation
Re: Software Developers
15195 NW Greenbrier Parkway
Beaverton, OR 97006.5701
Fax: 503.439.5011
Email: rosariov@timberline.com
Sorry, no telephone calls accepted
“if you
want to be
challenged
and work
with all the latest technologies;
if you like to learn new things
and work with great people; if
you want to develop rocking
and rolling software, then you
should talk to Timberline.V
—Chad Busche, 1997 U of O grad
and Timberline software developer
Timberune.
www.timberline.com
Equal Opportunity Employer
Drug-related deaths
to reach record high
PORTLAND— Oregon’s drug
related deaths for the first nine
months of 1999 are up 28 percent
from last year and are on track to
set a new record, according to
state figures released Monday.
In the first nine months, 206
people died from drug-related
causes, compared with 161 in the
same period last year.
The upward spiral began in
1991, said Dr. Karen Gunson, state
medical examiner. She predicts
that more than 300 people will die
this year in Oregon from drug-re
lated causes.
“This is a message to the people
who would legalize drugs: It’s not
harmless” said John Horton, a
Multnomah County deputy dis
trict attorney who prosecutes drug
cases. “People really are dying.”
Heroin continues to be the lead
ing killer with 163 through Sep
tember, a 34 percent increase from
last year.
The main source is black tar
heroin imported from Mexico,
said Mike Kuhlman, assistant spe
cial agent in charge of the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administra
tion’s district office in Portland.
He said the drug’s use is on the
rise, especially in Eugene, Salem
and Portland. And some of what is
landing in Oregon is stronger be
cause it’s not being cut as much,
possibly contributing to the death
rate, he said.
“It appears that it’s not chang
ing hands as often as it otherwise
would,” Kuhlman said.
Fifty-nine people died from co
caine-related causes, an increase
of 38 percent over the same period
last year. And, meth-related
deaths jumped 29 percent to 40.
Drugs used in combination caused
49 deaths, up 29 percent.
The Associated Press
CRIME
WATCH
Reported from Oct. 30 through Nov.
7:
■ Oct. 30: Criminal Trespass 1,1500
block of Alder Street, items stolen.
■ Oct. 30: Sex Abuse II, 1800 block
of Harris Street, woman assaulted.
■ Nov. 2: Assault IV/Harassment,
north end of Autzen Footbridge, indi
viduals arrested.
■ Nov. 5: Criminal Mischief II, Crimi
nal Trespass II, 1300 block of Univer
sity Street, items stolen.
■ Nov. 6: Physical Harassment, Kin
caid and East 13th Avenue, woman
harassed.
■ Nov. 6: Criminal Mischief, 500
block East 15th Avenue, keying patrol
car.
■ Nov. 7: Disorderly Conduct, 1000
block of Alder Street, fighting with
public safety officer.
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