Chapter 4: Crash...

September 8, 1994, Chicago, Illinois

“Was it their flight?” I asked, stunned.

“It had to be,” Elyse said. “I can’t imagine US Air would have two flights to Pittsburgh at that time.”

“Son of a bitch,” I swore. “Let me go ask Michelle. She’ll know.”

“What’s wrong, Dad?” Matthew asked.

“We might know someone who was on that plane. Just wait and let me check.”

I went to the kitchen where my wives and Michelle were.

“Michelle, do you remember what flight Charlie and Rob were on?”

“Sure. US Air flight 427. It should be arriving in Pittsburgh right about now. I confirmed the reservations with US Air this morning for them. Why?”

“CNN says a Chicago to Pittsburgh US Air flight crashed on approach to Pittsburgh a few minutes ago.”

“No!” both Kara and Michelle gasped.

“Are there survivors?” Jessica asked.

“All CNN said was they had reports of a crash, and that was right before I came in to ask Michelle. I’m going back to watch the news.”

“Tiger, are you OK? You know what I mean?”

I took stock and nodded, “I didn’t feel weak in the knees or light-headed at all.”

“OK.”

I left the kitchen and went back to the great room and told Elyse that Michelle had confirmed that Charlie and Rob were on a US Air flight that was supposed to have arrived at the same time as the crash was reported. She told me CNN hadn’t updated anything yet, and that she’d flipped to NBC and ABC and they simply had scrolls saying a plane had crashed with no more details. I was about to talk to Matthew and Michael when I heard the phone in my study ring and hurried to answer it.

“Steve, it’s Mario,” I heard a sullen voice say.

“It’s their flight, isn’t it?” I asked.

“Yeah. I’m at the airport because we were going to dinner. They put ‘See Agent’ on the arrival board right after CNN reported the crash, then deleted the entry a few minutes later. It has to be their flight.”

“Shit,” I sighed. “Any more details?”

“A local radio station is reporting a lot of black smoke about ten miles north of the airport, but that’s all. What do you want me to do?”

“Right now? I guess you should go home. If this is what it appears to be, we’ll have bigger concerns than a new client they were supposed to see tomorrow. We can talk in the morning about how to handle that, I guess.

“Yeah,” he sighed. “I guess that’s all we can do. Do you know how this works for notifying people?”

“No. Rob is married, so I’m sure they’ll call his wife. Charlie is engaged to Clayton, but they might call her parents because she’s not married. I suppose it depends who she listed on her form at the travel agency. Probably Clayton, now that I think about it. Well, assuming she updated it when they got engaged.”

“Are you going to call either his wife or her fiancé?”

“And say what?” I asked gently. “I don’t know anything yet. I can make some pretty obvious assumptions, but I don’t want to say anything until I know more details about what’s happened.”

I heard Elyse call my name so Mario and I ended our call and I quickly went out to the great room.

“They confirmed the flight number but don’t have any on-scene reports yet.”

“I suspect the local Pittsburgh stations will get there first,” I said. “It’ll all depend on who gets there with a reporting crew as to which network will have it. I’d hop over to regular CNN instead of Headline News.”

Elyse switched channels and we listened to Linden Soles report the scant information. Kara came to tell us dinner was ready so we went to the dining room, though Elyse turned up the sound on the TV so we could hear the reports. It wasn’t until we finished dinner and it was time to leave for karate class that CNN confirmed the aircraft had been destroyed on impact and that they didn’t expect there to be any survivors.

“I think I’m going to go to karate,” I said to Elyse. “I can’t do anything right now. When I get back from the dojo, we’ll discuss contingencies. See if you can get Julia, Dave, Cindi, Kimmy, and Mario on a call at 8:30pm. Jamie, too.”

“Michelle won’t be home from class, should we wait for her?”

I shook my head, “No. I don’t want to make it too late.”

“This really sucks,” she said. “What about the Board?”

“Not yet. Let’s have the call first. I can call my dad and Joyce afterwards, or tomorrow morning.”

We exchanged a hug and then my wives, Birgit, and I headed for the dojo.

“They’re dead?” Kara asked quietly, though I was sure Birgit, who was on my other side, could hear.

“They said ‘no survivors’. That’s pretty clear.”

“So what will you do?”

“I don’t know yet. I asked Elyse to get the management team on the phone for a conference call to discuss contingencies. We have succession and contingency planning for me, which YOU well know, but not for anyone else.”

“I did what was necessary,” Kara said. “And you know it was the right thing to do.”

“Who died, Daddy?” Birgit asked.

“We think a man who works for me, and our friend Charlie.”

“Oh,” she said, squeezing my hand. “Like Jorge?”

“Yes, except in a plane crash.”

“Oh,” she said.

I saw a tear drip down Birgit’s face, so I let go of Kara’s hand and picked up my daughter. I hugged her tightly to me and carried her the rest of the way to the dojo. When we arrived, I kissed her, made sure she was OK, and let her go line up, and then I went into Sensei Jim’s office.

“Did you hear about the plane crash in Pittsburgh?” I asked.

“Just before I left the house.”

“Two of my team were on that plane,” I said.

“Damn.”

“Yeah.”

“You’re still planning to leave for Europe on Saturday?”

“Yes, but now that you mention it, the funerals will probably be while I’m gone.”

“Yes, and as a leader, you need to be at both of them. Send someone else to Europe, if necessary.”

“It’s not that easy,” I replied. “But I have a meeting with my team at 8:30pm to discuss contingencies. I’ll do my best.”

“Remember, your job is leader; you have doers.”

“That’s not entirely accurate,” I countered. “I own the company, but my role is really a doer. I’m filling in as CEO until the real CEO shows up in about three years.”

“Steve, listen to me,” Sensei Jim said firmly. “Even if you are the full-time custodian at your company, you’re still the leader. And you have to be the leader even if you’re not giving the day-to-day orders. Never forget, leaders have responsibilities.”

I paused for a moment to think, then said, “Your attendance at Stephie’s funeral.”

“If for no other reason, yes. But I had other reasons as well. I liked her, a lot, and felt she had a very refreshing attitude towards life which I wanted to honor.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” I said. “It’s awfully short notice and we do have commitments.”

“Figure it out; that’s what good leaders do.”

I nodded, bowed, and we went out to class. After Therese led exercises, I worked with Felipe, Birgit, and two yellow belts on basic strikes and kicks. About twenty minutes after class started, Elyse burst into the dojo.

“Steve!” she gasped, obviously having run the entire way from home, “Charlie missed the flight!”

“Sensei,” I said, turning to Jim, “Please excuse the interruption.”

“Go,” he said.

I bowed and walked out to the vestibule.

“Charlie called about ten minutes ago. I ran the entire way because the phone here went to an answering machine. She left the office late and got stuck in traffic. She didn’t know what happened until she was sitting at the gate waiting for her rebooked flight and someone mentioned it. She called Clayton first, obviously.”

“Well, that’s good news, at least for Charlie. I’m guessing Rob made the flight?”

“Charlie said she talked to him to let him know she was going to miss the flight, and he told her he was just about to board. The report I heard before I left the house said there’s basically nothing left of the plane. Do you still want the contingency meeting?”

“It might sound a bit crass, but no. It can wait for morning. What is Charlie doing?”

“I was surprised, but she said she was going to get on the plane and go see the customer. She said she called Mario.”

“OK. We’ll have our meeting in the morning. We need to find out when the bodies will be released. I need to be at the funeral.”

“What about your trip?”

“We’ll talk about that tomorrow. I need to get back to class.”

Elyse and I hugged and I went back to my students. At the end of class Felipe asked what was going on.

“Two of my team were supposed to be on a flight to Pittsburgh that crashed. One of them missed the flight due to traffic on the expressway.”

“That’s lucky, though not so much for the other person. So what do you do now?”

“Honestly? I have no idea. The arrangements will be up to his wife, obviously. But beyond that, I’m not sure.”

“Did he have kids?”

“One. A son.”

“They’re going to have a really tough time.”

“That’s certainly true. I’m sorry to cut this short, but I need to get home.”

He nodded, bowed, and I left with Birgit, and my wives. We quickly made our way home, showered, and after we put the little ones to bed, we went to the great room to watch CNN. Michelle arrived home from her class just as we came downstairs and joined us in the great room where Elyse was sitting with the older kids.

“They interviewed a doctor on scene who said there are basically no intact bodies,” Elyse said quietly. “They’re going to have to use dental records and possibly DNA to try to identify body parts.”

“Damn,” I sighed. “How does our company life insurance work?”

“His wife will get his annual salary once a death certificate is issued. We also have the accidental death policy that will pay another $25,000. I don’t know if he elected to take the optional group life policy. Kimmy or Chris would know.”

“But none of those pay until there’s a death certificate, right?”

“Correct.”

“His wife doesn’t work,” I said. “I have no idea what their finances are like, but I’m not leaving them in the lurch. Tomorrow, I want you to do a wire transfer of three months’ pay into his bank account. And on the 15th, he’s to be paid for the entire pay period, as well as have his accrued vacation and sick leave paid out. And I want his wife to receive his bonus for this year. Write the memo and I’ll sign it.”

“OK. I don’t know if they have a joint account,” Elyse said. “I’ll need to call his wife. If I can’t get hold of her, I’ll try the secondary emergency contact in his file. We should wait for the passenger manifest to be released, though I don’t see any chance he wasn’t on the plane.”

“That’s your first task tomorrow. Make sure it happens; call anyone you need to call. Then we’ll need to figure out what to do about a memorial service and his funeral.”

“That may be some time, from what they said.”

“True,” I said, then turned to Michelle, “Michelle, please find out the funeral arrangements. It might be a few days or even a week, but I want to know as soon as possible. Also, I want an all-staff meeting tomorrow morning. We’ll do it at 10:00am so our Western Region folks can attend.”

“I’m going to make some calls now,” Michelle replied, “so they know there will be a call at 8:00am.”

“Thanks. And let them know why, please.”

“OK.”

We watched CNN for a bit, but there were no further updates with new information, so after drinking some tea, my wives and I headed to bed. I’d asked Michelle to postpone our talk until the next evening, and I was grateful when she agreed. I decided not to say anything to Jessica about the conversation. I would raise it in a general sort of way at some point, though.

September 9, 1994, Chicago, Illinois

“I heard through the grapevine two of your staff were on that flight to Pittsburgh,” Gina said when we met to run on Friday morning.

I shook my head, “I guess I’m not surprised. It turns out that Charlie Johnson missed the flight because she left the office late and was stuck in traffic on the Kennedy.”

“Holy crap! Remind me never to complain about traffic ever again!”

“It could just have well worked the other way, too,” I replied as we started stretching. “The later plane could have crashed. We’re getting into the ‘What if?’ silliness now.”

“Well, call it luck or Fate or whatever. Both ways, I guess.”

“Life is fleeting,” I said. “We never know. Look at what happened with Al Barton. No warning. Just ‘bang’ and he’s unconscious and with a potentially life-threatening situation.”

“We don’t get too many of those in Internal Medicine. It’s one of the reasons I didn’t go for trauma or ICU. I prefer careful, considered intervention instead of the complete madhouse those can become.”

“And Jessica and Al both thrive on that chaos,” I said. “The sad part is, I’m thirty-one and all I have to look forward to is that more and more people I know will die. And so will I.”

“Don’t get morose on me,” she said as we got up to start running.

“It’s not being morose or depressed or anything you need to report to Al; it’s just facing facts. I’m sure you have patients die on your service.”

“It comes with the territory, though we do try to avoid that.”

I laughed, “I should hope so!”

We increased our pace and continued our run in silence. I contemplated just what I was going to say to the team, and what I would, eventually, say to Janet, Rob’s wife. I decided to chat with Bethany and Al Barton about dealing with sudden loss. I’d had that situation myself on three occasions, but I still had no clue what to say to Janet. Those thoughts occupied me for the rest of the run. After Gina and I did our cool down walk, I headed back to the house to shower and spend time with Birgit while I read the newspaper.

“I’m glad Charlie didn’t die,” Birgit said after we’d cuddled while I was reading the newspaper.

“Me too, Pumpkin. But another man who works for Daddy died in the crash.”

“Did I know him?”

I shook my head, “No.”

“I miss Jorge.”

“Me too,” I said. “Shall we get some breakfast?”

“Yes!”

We got up and I put down the Chicago Tribune where I’d read the sketchy details of the crash. They had found the ‘black boxes’, which were actually orange in color, and there were no indications of a bomb. The NTSB was on site and investigating, and there was a massive recovery effort underway for the bodies.

“Good morning, husband!” Jessica and Kara said simultaneously when they came into the kitchen about ten minutes later with most of the kids in tow.

“‘Morning,” I said.

“Are you doing OK?” Kara asked.

“Yes. I’m just trying to figure out what to say to the team this morning. Part of me wants to jump for joy that Charlie is alive, but that would be inappropriate.”

“I think I’d avoid mentioning her in your talk,” Jessica said. “Just say your piece about Rob and leave the rest be. Everyone will know you’re happy about Charlie.”

I considered for a moment, then said, “I think you’re right.”

Elyse and Michelle came in a few minutes later bringing Michael with them. We all ate breakfast, and when Amanda arrived, we headed to the office. Word had spread quickly, and almost everyone knew what had happened. I spent a bit of time talking to people, then went up to my office to jot down my thoughts about what I was going to say. Just after 9:00am, Elyse brought in the memo I’d asked her to prepare, saying she’d confirmed that Rob’s name was on the passenger manifest. I double-checked it then signed it and gave it back.

Just before 10:00am, Michelle let me know she’d set up the conference call, so I grabbed a cup of coffee and went to the open area on the first floor where we’d done the Town Hall meeting the previous week. Dave and Julia came over to talk privately with me, but I asked them to please wait until after the meeting because it was almost time to start.

“Is everyone on the line?” I asked Michelle.

“Yes, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, and the consultants in Denver and San Francisco. I had Lucas put the phones on ‘night service’ and the customer support line will ring to the voicemail as it does when everyone is busy.”

“OK, let’s get started,” I said, moving to the center of the room.

“Team,” I said, then paused. “No, that’s not right; Friends, last night we lost one of our colleagues in a plane crash in Pittsburgh. For those of you who didn’t know him, Rob Zlinka was a top consultant and was about to move to Pittsburgh to take on a big project. There is literally nothing I can say that will do justice to how I feel, and how I’m sure all of you feel, but there is no question that losing a friend and colleague hurts. I have instructed Elyse to ensure that Janet, Rob’s wife, has everything she needs, and NIKA will go out of its way to ensure we don’t make a difficult time even worse.