ML19294B865

Forwards Two Seattle Times 800212 Articles to Be Considered in NRC Reappraisal of Military Aviation Risk Analysis as Offered by NRC in Licensing Hearing 790717 Session.Requests Investigation of Grumman A-6 Accidents.W/Certificate of Svc

ML19294B865
Person / Time
Site:	Skagit
Issue date:	02/15/1980
From:	Leed R LEED, R.M.
To:	Black R NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE LEGAL DIRECTOR (OELD)
References
NUDOCS 8003060219
Download: ML19294B865 (5)

Text

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WhC "O.mz uw cFFICES RCGER M. LEED coureen E even seunn m eme g ,u ,,,,, sec re. wasn ng :.n sci egg cesec1EED secre-uc ce, w cercer February 15, 1980 9I/ g .

Mr. Richa rd L. Black, Esq. a Counsel for NRC Staf f 4 Y U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission  % gTO ,

Office of the Executive Legal Directo. g i

$?

- Washington, D.C. 20555 - ()g 3 -

E Re: Dock e t #50-522; #50-523 4 dhNO #

Dear Mr. Black:

O 1co At the Skagit Nuclear Plant licensing hearing session of July 17, 1979, you of fered to reappraise the NRC Staf f 's milita ry aviation risk an aly sis , with particular ref erence to Grumman A-6 aircraf t based at Whidbey Island, if SCANP could provide some information supporting its claim that hazards arising f rom A-6 operations are significantly greater than the accident rate for military aircraft in general.

You are referred to enclosures to this letter. The Seattle Times carried two articles in its February 12, 19 8 0 i ssue, describing a sudden rash of A-6 accidents. Eleven Whidbey Island fliers have died in the A-6 cince November 28, 1979.

These fatal accidents have aroused a great deal of local concern for the safety of the A-6, for the standards of maintenance and service of these planes at Whidbey Island, and f or the possible suppression of informa tion regarding A-6 accidents of a non-f atal nature. Senator Henry Jackson has recently initiated inquiries into the saf ety record of the A-6 in comparison to that of the military aircraf t fleet at large.

We request that you undertake a similar investigation of the A-6 aircrafts' accident statistics, in order to determine the adequacy of previous staf f analysis of military aircraf t hazards to the proposed Skagit Nuclear Plant, pursuant to you r repesentations before the licensing boa rd last J u ly .

Ve ry truly yours, f/,

" C suf , . .jw/' k Ar RL R'oge r M . Leed Counsel for Intervenor SCANP RML:=hh Encicsures ec: Service List OY 1%

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A.6 Intruder aircraft fly over Whidbey Island. "**

y anoers ma'says , Navy pilofs widow 11 Whidbey Islan~d fliers killed in recent crashes of ' safe' plane s .

.cn Wh!!ely :r sta'f re;;orter Sarah Brown was bom June 6. Her faber the carner Ranger, killinz Lt. Cdr. Clark i

' left to jom the Kitty Hawk on June 10. He had Bruce and Lt (j.g.) Jchn'R. Babtene. A thi:

four davs w:S his daughter. crewman, Lt. Cdr, Wil!!am L. Waterman, wi ven W!.idbey Island flie-s have been ~

"They should have been home December rescued.

in Gamman A4 airplanes recently in 16. This was gemg to be a great Chnstmas,"

ppaar to te unconnected accidents. For Mrs. Brown said.

- October 10. 1975: An A4 crashed ne:

mvo s of the Navy men ki: led in the Kalaloch on the Olvmpic Peninsula, killing L The spec:f: cations for de Navv's Intr: der (j.g.) Ronald L. 'Wiggmgton and Lt. .(j.g s, there is no common tnread.

and Proiler aircraft are straightforvcard: Charles R. Currier.

.e pilot was distracted: it was de kind Built by Grumman Aircraft in BeSpage. .

tnat happened se fast, no one will ever , Long Islaf.c. N.Y., the basic a:rplane has a ce-

- November 23. 1979: An EA4B Prowk said Mrs. Sue Bab:one, whose husband disappeared m the Indtan Ocean, kilhng Cd s:gn that dates to 1957 and first flew in 19'^3. Peter T. Rodrick, Lt. Cdr Wi!!:am J. Coffe; eptember 23,1975. "There's concem '. Now the Navy and Manne Corps operate 17 Lt. James B. Brown, Jr., and Lt. (j.g.) John I he plane at this point . . by the time ' squadrons of the twin-engine jets, with about Chorey, a!! of Oak Harbor.

d cne came around (in 19 9) the wives 15 aircraf t in each squadron. - December 12, 1979: Lt.' Gary S."Sha-amb, s:tting on the edge of their seats." '

The twm-engine p! anes have become one of and Lt. (j.g.) Kenneth M. Bates died afte 2er widow descr:bes the acc: dents as most versa!!!e in the United States arsenal, their tanker ve sion of the Inm.: der, the K; a freak:sh thing . . but the accident serving as a bomber, tanker and electrcnics. 6D, crashed moments af ter taking off from tn are classiftM. even be wrees can't see ' warfare plane. In its EA4A version, the two. aircraft camer Constellation near San Diego

. . my husband always thought it was piace Intruder has a top speed of 793 miles an he safest planes to be in, it had a really - December 16,19 9: Lt. (j.g.) Rcter hour; a four place vers:en, the EA-6B Prowier Dark,7.6, ki!!ed en a trammg flight in an EAE-1 cord up to now." has a never-excead spead of 817 mi!es a . hour

.enne Brown whose husband died m a from the carrier Nimitz :n the Medite ranean Crews who fly the Intruders and Prowlers - December 29,19 9: A KA-6D crashed 1:

. the Indian Ocean November 23,19 9, censider them one of ' 'fest airp! anes used uch more than the airplanes to be an- the Arabiah Sea, killmg Cdr, Walter (Butch by the Navy "sta:. a.:d "one of the safest Williams and Lt. Cdr B uce Mil:er The plant ut. p; anes to be in."

e thmg that angers me the most is that crashed immMiately after takmg off from the Yet the planes have baen m aa unusual carner K: tty Hawk.

e keeps talking about the hastages (m. number of acc:de its: - February 8.1950 (F : day):: An' 2A4

.is and the hostages that. At ! east they. - September 17, 1976: An A4 crashed crashed near Sun Valley, Idaho, killing Lt chance to come hcme. about 500 yard.s from de runway of the Whid.

ngers me dat dev d:ed for no2ing," Frank H. Edwards and LL (j.g.) Michael A

' tey Island Naval Air Station, k:1::ng Lt. (j.g.) Carpenter.

of her husband an'd his friends. Charles R. Tutt of Oklahoma Citv and Ens.

n:;ers me that people are so izncrant The 10 deaths since November 25 led Sena.

Marcus Linn of O!ymp:a. Their sod:es were tor Henrj Jackson to announce over the week Navy wives have to put up wits " not recovered. end he intends to have his staff investigate tht Brown has anmher reason to de - September 23, 1973: An EA4B Prewlu cause of the crashes.

crashad abcut 110 miles f-om San ,D! ego near (See Svein Cilfe's colutnn on B 4.)

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34 The Seattle Ti.1es Tues:I.' Feruary 12.10E) **

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a rasr of deaths in 66s M i !s t_horough probe needed? w. , _. .

. _hirteen Whidbey Island fliers killed in 2:n safety record unt,il recently. However, questions 'Yk ,.

Tha '*e abat materiel fatigue have been raised. Is the age  ! , , up-

- ~~ . o ... .e ..u.a- e ,. -

of :he aircraft beg'nnmg to show? - ,

, t since each accident seems unrelated, no Then O'.ere are safety procedures and mainte- - ' ' -

vestigation or h *A

• aircra t. One Navy enhsted man in w ""

- vised procedur~" p so tax t 13! .y ns:sted that toprecedures havefie!d."

become

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• I for one want get out of this a ra Pn. a~y'act, ,..,.e ;s,/ e e, *r I e . What about the training procedures? i-ed

- _ 3U2ll1 R ea.- Adm. Charles E. Hunter, at Whidbey . . . -

, x; / said a month ago: "I have personally spoken to a'!!

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. that it

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c nt:nue because they have been d0ne proper!v." ^

, g m'es stcff receder A Navy spokesman said that thoug!; mo'st of Y3 the planes involved were of the A4 family, that did-i ,

2e 3

1. s tal!.[. < I ,I rL~..s 'n".>'ed - .. in 12S major aircraft not mean they were all alike. Some were of the KA-accicent and .3 p' anes destroyed. 6D and EA4B versions, which are different fron -

cx mg at .he overali picture, with the thou- the mam A4 type r?. < "

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nds cf hours that Navy pla: es fly in a year, yes, Still. there are similar: ties in the aircraf' i n- * - -

t, a fe year, But that s sma!! comfort to the '

volved. Similarities also exist in practices and pro- . -

.-o s ,.os _ who lost the:r lives in the acci- cedures, which cuent to be re-examined' de is or to these whose lives may be on the lire m For such reasons Senator Henry inckson be-pges.e , of ,.,.e

.. .. .,aralities invoh ed five A-6 Grum-came concemed and asked the Navy to give him a compansun of the reccids of A-6s and other types mo, n at.uraft ased at the %,mdbey Island Naval A:r of aircraft over the past five or s:x vears. His ra-tanor.. In add:t:en t,wo Manne Ccrps aviators sta- quest raised the question whether a comme'n tion , ere er silled when their helicopter a , thread, such as poss:ble mater:al fatigue, may be '-

. trac in ..e act: dent reports crashe- mo$:N,g,.re -.~u Eb a re.au ..as e oc-p a ks a has begun his own in.

vestigaucn is incorrect. Anat is not Jackson's stvla

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curre, ,han ha';c ,,een officm!!y acknowledged. He norr.a!!y wcrks through channels first bef'ori I

.o- ,ramors ma. ha';e stemmed from acci- beginn:ng an mdependent mvestaation.) L dents in tne Navy unre!ated to Whidbey Is'and. Or The Whidbev Island statiorf is the A4 ' on] h EI, n ...hN. .s.cgf..u.earber fatal crashes of A.6s

, West Coast base." They have been flown frequent!h-

. in one cras... two persons there. Frcm Whtdbey the A4s are flown all over

,h!!!ed on the 0 ympic Penmsu!a m the fall of the wor:d for duty on aircraft carriers, which ex-g,icm,- .g.avy, sources have ra: sed questiens p!ams the wide gegraphic range of the accident s:tes -

about poss5:e cause"e-

- Bt,,. such circumstances certainly should not since - a.

. Sb ,$ fs}an , an 1.{..as had a fair give clues !eadmg gh probe of A4 accide'nts that may ,.>;

to corrective action.

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4 il UNITED STAT. .' AMERIC A i NUCLEAR REGULATuid COMMISSION 5 l BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING ECARD 6

I In the Matter of )

7lq PUGET SOUND POWER & LIGHT

}

) DOCKET NOS. STN 50-522 8 ' COMPANY, et al., ) 50-523

)

9 3 )

I (Skagit Nuclear Power Project, )

10 l Units 1 and 2) )

)

11 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 12 I hereby certify that copies of the letter addressed to 13 Mr. Richa rd L . Black, Esq. , da ted Feb ru ary 15, 1980, have been 14 served on the following by depositing the same in the United 15 l.

States mail, postage prepaid, on this 15th day of February, 1980.

Valentine B. Deale, Esq., Chai rma n Docketing and Service Section

-17 l Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Office of the Secretary

' U.S . Nuclear Regulatory U.S . Nuclear Regulatory 18 Commission Commission 1001 Connecticut Ave.nue N.W. Washington, D.C. 20555 19 Washington, D.C. 20036 Richard L. Black, Esq.

20 l Dr. Frank F. Hooper, Member Counsel f or NRC Staff

/ Atomic Safety and Licensing Board U.S. Nucle ar Regulatory 21 i School of Natural Resources Commission b University of Michigan Office of the Executive Legal 22 ' Ann Arbor, MI. 48104 Director Washington, D, C. 20555 23 i Gustave A. L inenbe rge r , Member I Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Nicholas D. Lewis, Chairman 24 I

U .S . Nucle a r Regulatory Energy Facility Site Evaluation.

Commission Council 25 } Washington, D.C. 20555 820 East Fifth Avenue

}

26 C -

Oly mp ia , Washington 98504 Certificate - 1 l

h d

• ROGER M. LEED j e ranN awe..t S ca!TL C. *a S ao N C 'O N 98 08 2:e 62.-e b; ll

l il 1 'j Richa rd M. Sandvik, Esq., Russel W. Busch Assistant Attorney General Evergreen Legal Services 2 Department of Justice 52 0 Smi th Tcw e r 500 Pacific Building Seattle, Washington 98104 3 520 S. W. Yamhill Portland, Oregon 97204 Thomas Moser 4

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Robert Lowenstein, Esq. Skagit County Courthouse 5 Lowens te in , Newman, Reis & Mt. Vernon, Washington 98273 Axelra d 6 1025 Connecticu t Avenue, N .W. Warren Hastings Washington, D.C. 20036 Portland General Electric Co.

7 121 S.W. Salmon Street James W. D u rh am , Esq. TB 13 8 Portland General Electric Co. P o rtir .td , Oregon 97204 121 S.W. Salmon Street 9 TB 17 Atomic Safety and Licensing Portland, Oregon 97204 Appeal Panel (5) 10' U.S . Nuclear Regulatory CFSP and FOB Commission 11 E. Stachon & L. Marbet Washington, D.C. 20555 19142 S. Bakers Ferry Road 12! Boring, Oregon 97009 13 Canadian Consulate General Pe ter A. van Brakel 14 Vice-Consul 412 Plaza 600 15 6th and Stewart Street Seattle, Washington 98101 -

16 F. Theodore Thomsen .

17 Pe rk ins , Coie, S tone, Olsen

& Williams 18 1900 Washington Building Seattle, Washington 98101 19 Alan P. O' Kelly

. 20 Paine, Lowe, Coffin, He rman

& O' Kelly 21 1400 Washington Trust Financial Center 22 S pok an e , Washington 99204 m1 23'  !

DATED: h/ /

24 ROGER M. LEED 25 By

- A' 't dc LALI '

)0 W 1 26 Certificate - 2 '

ROGER.M.LEED g 4:e ec.m*.Avt. ,g .

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