Quincy M.E. (1976–1983): Season 6, Episode 11 - Scream to the Skies - full transcript

Gentlemen, you
are about to enter

the most fascinating
sphere of police work,

the world of forensic medicine.

Transglobal four-four-two.

We have an update on
that heavy weather advisory.

Four-four-two. Go
ahead, dispatch.

Looks like you're
in for a rocky one.

We've got offshore winds now.

Northeast at eighteen to twenty-two
knots below one thousand feet.

Increasing to fifty knots between
niner and one-two thousand.

Got it. Any more good news?



That'll teach you to
push down three burritos

before you go and
fly in weather like this.

Four-four-two. We've got a squall line
moving through with attendant wind shear

and severe up and down draft.

T-G four-four-two.
Thanks a bunch, dispatch.

We don't make the weather,
Captain. Just report it.

Yes, you're in the center cabin.

Seats twenty-one A
and B. Here you go.

You can store those things
above in the upper compartment.

- Thank you.
- Back here, Mom. This way.

- Hello.
- Hi.

Duck, duck, there.

Transglobal four-four-two.
Cleared to O'Hare Airport

via seal six departure, Daggett.



Four-four-two. Cleared to O'Hare
via seal six departure, Daggett.

Climb and maintain two thousand.

Departure control one-two-five-point-two,
squawk four-six-two-three.

Read back correct. Contact
ground, twenty-one seventy-five.

Los Angeles ground. Transglobal
four-four-two push back, gate thirty-eight.

Transglobal four-four-two,
Los Angeles ground.

Push back, runway
two-five-right.

To insure you have a safe and
comfortable flight, we ask you

to give your attention to the flight
attendants at the front of the cabin.

In the seat pocket in
front of you is a card

describing the safety
features of this airplane.

Transglobal four-four-two.
Cleared for takeoff. Two-five-right.

The wind is two-five-zero,
variable two-seven-zero

at two-six gusting
to three-zero.

This aircraft is equipped
with floatable seat cushions

and inflatable life vests,

located in the compartment
under your seat.

For your assistance in the
unlikely event of a water landing.

As the cabin attendants
are demonstrating,

remove the life vests
from the plastic container,

insert your arms
through the loops...

Los Angeles tower, Transglobal
four-four-two, ready two-five-right.

I've never seen
anything like this before.

That's because it's so uncommon.

See the cell nests
with those huge nuclei?

Yeah, up there in the right?

Yeah, that's why her pneumonia
didn't respond to antibiotics.

It was Lymphangitic cancer.

Cancer cells acting like pneumonia.
You better cut three cells...

Quincy, what are you doing?

What do you mean, what
am I doing? I'm doing my job...

I see you're doing your job. Sam,
you gave me your solemn oath.

- No, I forgot! The meeting!
- Forgot what?

- Right, the meeting.
- What meeting?

What meeting? What meeting? The
meeting! I told you about that weeks ago.

- You told me about a meeting?
- With Senator Fullmer
and the Medical Board.

I would've remembered that!
What are you talking about?

I'm sorry, Quince. I was
supposed to remind you.

- Look, look!
- Look at what?

- You're not dressed.
- What is this,
a new kind of naked?

Quincy, we're keeping a Senator
waiting. Come on, hurry, hurry...

All right, if it's that important,
give me five minutes, will you?

- What's the matter with you?
- I'm sorry...

Why are you guys whispering?
What are you, spies?

(THUNDERING)

(BEEPING)

Number four engine.
I'm getting fire!

(PEOPLE SCREAMING)

What the hell is going on?

(PEOPLE SCREAMING)

It's three and four on fire. We're losing
them both, Eddie. We're going down!

(PEOPLE SCREAMING)

(EXPLODING)

Watch your control!

Eddie, get the nose, get
the nose down! Get it down!

Mayday! Mayday!
We're going down!

Get the nose down, Eddie.
Get it down! For God's sake!

PILOT: Put your head in
your lap. Put your head down,

ladies and gentlemen,
put your head...

Surprise!

Happy birthday!

You didn't even give me a hint!

MAN: Something
to warm your toes!

Oh, my God!

Okay, first drinks are on me!

You're gonna pick up a tab?

Don't push it just because
it's your birthday. Let' go, okay!

(PEOPLE SCREAMING)

Happy birthday to you,
happy birthday to you,

happy birthday dear Quincy,

happy birthday to you!

(APPLAUDING)

You know, you're gonna need a
fire extinguisher to blow all those out.

I'm not that old! Cut that out!

Listen, you guys
shouldn't have done this.

That's right, we
shouldn't have done it!

Excuse me. Doctor,
telephone, your office.

Blow them out, Quince.

Come on, make a wish!

Hello, Doctor Asten.

Good wish.

Oh, my God!

Hey, Quince...

Just a minute. There's
been a disaster.

A plane went down at Santa Monica Bay
with 147 passengers and crew on board.

What about survivors?

No details. Come with me. We're
gonna set up a staging area at the airport.

The Coast Guard has a cutter waiting
for you at the Marina. You better hurry.

The rest of you
from the Department,

emergency procedures,
you know what to do.

Quincy! Be careful.

Okay, he's here.
Let's shove off!

(HORN BLARING)

Here. Lieutenant Anders,
Doctor. You're gonna need this.

Thank you. Where did it go down?

Well, we think it hit about six, six
and a half miles west, southwest.

Think? Aren't you sure? What about
those emergency beepers on planes?

Bear two-ten, max RPM. You mean
the emergency locator transmitters?

Yeah.

- Doesn't have it.
- What do you mean?

Commercial planes don't
carry them. They're not required.

How are we supposed to find it? How
are we supposed to find the survivors?

Well, every available Coast Guard
vessel and chopper are on their way,

and we know approximately where
it went off the controller's scope,

so we search, and
we pray we get lucky.

(SIRENS WAILING)

What do you want me to do
with this load of body bags?

Take them down to the Coast
Guard Station at the Marina.

Got it.

Doctor Asten, just checked
with the Coast Guard. Nothing.

They say it's possible the plane
could have gone under with all aboard.

Oh, no! That means there
won't be any survivors!

There! That could be
them! Steer three-zero-zero.

- Where?
- About a quarter
mile off star-board.

Coast Guard Group San Diego,
Coast Guard Group San Diego,

this is Coast Guard Cutter Point
Bridge. We are on scene in position,

bearing two-one-zero magnetic,

approximately seven miles
from Marina Del Rey Breakwater.

Have established visual
contact with persons in the water.

Request you advise all
approaching units of our position, over.

Let's go get them.

Oh, God! Oh, God!

Try to stay together!

(YELLING)

Hey, hey! Over here!

Help! Help, please! Over here!

Mark, set up the dental X-ray unit
at the end of those tables, okay?

I'll take care of it.

Doctor Asten, they located the
crash site. There are survivors.

Thank God! Terrific! Victims?

Most of them didn't make it.

(YELLING)

People weren't in the
rafts. Where are they?

They didn't have any!

What are you talking about?

These planes are not required
to carry life rafts, so they don't.

Over here! Over here!

Survivors! Over there, hurry up!

Help! Please, help!

Over there! Don't you
see them in the life jackets?

Hurry up, before they
go into hypothermia!

Help!

Got you. Come on, here we go.

Lend me your knife.

Thank God!

She's hypothermic, bradycardia.

She's throwing PVC's. We
gotta rewarm her immediately.

The only way we can do that,
sir, is to get her to a chopper.

Then get her to a chopper! If we
don't rewarm her, she's gonna die!

Don't you understand?
She's gonna die!

Yes, sir.

Okay. It's gonna be okay.

Please, don't give up.

Please, don't give
up. Don't give up.

No signs of external
trauma at all.

Drowning?

No, no. Very little
cyanosis on his extremities.

The extreme paleness of his skin
is a good indication of hypothermia.

He suffered, a very
long, slow death.

- A big athletic-looking
fellow, too, isn't he?
- Yeah.

A shame. Forty minutes in
the water was all he could take.

His body just gave in.

Is there a preliminary ID?

Picture in a wallet. Daryl
V. Hansen, thirty-four.

Here it is. Hansen, Daryl V.
Going to Chicago. He lived in Illinois.

I guess he was going home.

For the last time.

Sam, I want a... I
need a... Yeah, okay.

A full set of fingerprints, and if
that doesn't give us a positive ID,

- I'll follow it up
with a dental series.
- Thank you.

Quincy, give me a hand.
We'll get a cup of coffee.

Well, I'm gonna have to release
a preliminary list of victims.

There's at least two
hundred friends and

relatives in the VIP
lounge waiting for word.

That's the part I hate most.

Thank you. It doesn't
make any sense.

It doesn't make
any sense at all.

Almost all of them got out
of that plane safe and alive.

They all survived the crash.

All right, George.

Hansen, Daryl V., preliminary
identification, deceased.

Hansen... Hansen... Here he is.

- Quincy, are you all right?
- Yeah.

I'm going to the terminal with the
list. See if you could make it down

at the Coroner's Office
in, say, two hours, all right?

No, we've got eighty-seven
autopsies to do.

- Some birthday, huh?
- Some birthday.

(BEEPING)

Katy, listen to me.

You've gotta fight to come back.

Now, you can do it. You can. You
gotta tell yourself over and over,

"I wanna wake up, I wanna
wake up, I wanna wake up."

Now, you can do
it. I know you can.

But you gotta fight to make
it happen. I know it's tough.

But it's your life, and
your life is everything.

Please, Katy.

Otherwise, nothing
makes sense. Please.

Doctor Quincy?

Purnell Jamison. We've all
heard what you've done for her.

Really remarkable,
to say the least.

I just hope it's enough.
May I see her chart, please?

Oh, certainly, Doctor.

She was brought in with preventricular
contractions and severe bradicardia.

Pulse weak, about forty.

We stabilized with lidocaine
and started to rewarm her.

Standard procedure,
one degree per hour.

Then, God knows why,
she went into fibrillation.

We defibbed, she
converted. Just slid into coma.

As you can see, she still has brain
function but, now it's just wait and see.

Well, I know you're doing
everything you can, Doctor.

- You mind if I
keep looking at her?
- Feel free anytime, Doctor.

Here, Katy was clutching this
locket when she was brought in.

Why don't you just hang onto it and give
it to her when she comes out of her coma.

Thank you, Doctor. I will.

Doctor Quincy, have they
found out the cause yet?

The cause of the crash
or the cause of the deaths?

Because, believe me,
Doctor, they're a lot different.

That's another one that shouldn't have
died. Not one sign of external trauma.

Not a scratch on him. He
got out of that boat alive.

He went into the water, and in less than
ninety minutes, he died of hypothermia.

The water was
pretty cold, Quince.

The Coast Guard said it was
fifty-one point eight degrees.

From what I know about exposure,

most people lapse into unconsciousness
within an hour in that temperature.

And then they drown.

There was no protection
for them in the water.

Some of them had life jackets on, but
that's no protection against hypothermia.

Did you finish up?

For tonight, anyway.

Sam, Quincy, you were
both outstanding and

well, that's all I can say.

Sam, you go home
and get some sleep.

Thanks. You don't have to show
me to the door. I know where it is.

You too, Quincy. I need you
fresh as a daisy in the morning.

Doctor Asten, we've got
another case from the disaster.

Everybody's covered. Desk
needs to know who to assign it to.

I think we'll do
it in the morning.

- No, no, I'll do it.
- Quincy, go home. Get some sleep.

Please, let me do it. Why should the
family wait any longer than they have to?

- Quincy...
- Please, please, let me do it.

I'll get the table ready.

I'll put some water on my face.

Another child, huh?

Yeah, I'm afraid so.

Oh, no.

Doctor Asten, markup.

Listen, have you seen
Quincy this morning?

No, Maybe he's upstairs.

No, I looked there. Thanks.

- Good morning, Doctor.
- Good morning, Sam.

Have you seen
Quincy this morning?

- Nope.
- Did he call in?

- Have you heard from him?
- No, not a word.

Where the devil is he?
He wasn't in yesterday.

He didn't call in. No
answer on the boat.

Listen, Sam, I don't
know what to think.

You know, it's not like Quincy to pick
up and take off without letting us know.

Well, he was pretty upset
when he left Monday.

That little girl just, I don't
know, devastated him.

(PHONE RINGING)

Quincy! Quincy!

It's me, Danny!

Quincy, it's Danny! Danny boy.

Quince, come on!

Looks like a morgue in
here. Sorry, wrong word.

Danny, turn them off, please.

I want you to see this
concoction I came up with.

You didn't eat your
breakfast. Beautiful fruit.

I'm telling you, Quincy, fruit
like this doesn't grow on trees.

Best joke. Lunch, creamed
chipped chicken, Italian style.

Just leave it there.
I'll get to it later today.

Gourmet cuisine like
this, you only learn in jail.

Leave it there. I'll
get to it, honest I will.

- I know...
- Will you cut that out!

Please, will you? I know what
you're trying to do and I appreciate it,

but I'd rather be alone. Please!

Sure, sure.

- You call me if
you need something.
- Sure.

- You know, whatever you...
- Okay.

Doctor Asten, Danny's
here to see you.

- Danny?
- Thanks, Pete.

I wouldn't be barging in on
you unless it was important.

Well, I know it must be important or you
wouldn't come down to the first call area.

I'm worried about Quincy.

You're worried? Boy, so are
we. Do you know where he is?

- He's on his boat.
- He's on his boat?

- I've been calling there...
- I know,
he's not answering his phone.

He's not talking, he's not eating,
he's lying in his bunk in the dark.

All day and all night.

Now, Doctor, I've never
seen Quincy like this before.

He's like a zombie.

Oh, God, I'm so dense.

What?

I missed it.

I missed it! It's a classic
psychoneurotic depressive reaction.

The aftermath of the crash.

Quincy was pulling bodies out
of the water, out of everywhere.

I mean, he's in a
depression. An acute

depressive reaction,
you see, I missed that.

Sam even mentioned to me that he was
devastated over the death of a little girl.

- I missed it.
- I see.

- What do we do about Quincy?
- Give him help.

- Doctor Quincy.
- Yes?

- Holly Mahoney.
- Don't I know you?

You should. We met once before.

- Last week,
about seven miles out there.
- Holly Mahoney, of course.

How are you? How
are you feeling?

A lot better than
most people on board.

I lost three of my
friends on that flight.

- I never got
a chance to thank you.
- Please, that's not necessary.

I'm sorry about your friends.

I understand you
lost a friend, too.

Well, she wasn't exactly a
friend. See, I didn't know her,

but because she was
so vulnerable, I guess I...

We all were. I've been
flying for over nine years now,

and every time one of my flights
takes off or lands over water, boy it...

that's the way I feel, vulnerable.
Everybody on that plane does.

We just proved that
last week. Sitting ducks.

Doctor Quincy, you're in a position
to really help us make some changes.

Do you have a few minutes?

Well, as a matter of fact, Holly, I
don't. I'm very busy. I have to go.

Listen, I'm not asking for a
lot of time. It's just a man...

Don't you understand?
I can't talk about it.

You see, it's still
too painful for me.

Painful for you? For you?

Since when did you become
the hero of this piece?

When did this disaster
start centering around you?

I mean, how do you come off feeling
so sorry for yourself? You're alive!

Boy, did I have
you pegged wrong!

I thought a man like you
would be chewing up the FAA

and the airlines and spitting
them out after what you saw.

I have to go.

Well, you keep running!
You keep tied up in yourself!

And why don't you save some of pity
for the people who died in that crash...

Don't you understand,
that's what's tearing me apart!

That's what's torturing
me! I couldn't help them!

No, you couldn't help them, but
you can help the thousands of people

who right now, today,
are in the same jeopardy.

Run the same risk
we ran on that flight.

You were there! You saw what
happened when we bailed out.

Not one single
life raft on board.

Not one single raft on that airplane
to keep those people out of the water.

- I saw.
- And I'll tell
you something else,

there won't be any rafts as long as
people like you don't get off your duff

and do something about it!

God, I... wasted my time.

I'm sorry, Doctor Quincy.

I really had you all wrong.

You go ahead and read your book.

You keep wrapped up in
yourself and your self-pity.

We'll just have to
fight them without you.

Quincy, how are
you? How you been?

- What are you doing here?
- Well,
we were worried about you.

No calls, no messages, nothing.

I'm sorry, I should've called.

I just didn't feel like going back to
the job. I'm not very good at it, anyway.

You're an outstanding
Medical Examiner.

See how the rope
is falling apart.

Sea rots everything.

Quincy! Quincy!

There's no reason to punish yourself,
to suffer as much as the victims.

Now, you're going
through depressive grief...

Doctor, please, don't doctor me.

I'm not trying to
doctor you. Quincy!

Quincy!

I'm just trying to be a friend.

You know, you're not gonna
relieve these feelings unless you,

talk about them, you admit them.

I mean, you gotta
talk to me, Quincy.

I can handle my own responsibilities.
Doctor Asten, I don't wanna be rude,

but I'd rather be alone.

See, right now I'm
not feeling anything.

Now, that's not true. I
know what you're feeling.

You know what I'm feeling...

Yes, I know. You're
feeling a rage.

An absolute white hot rage.
Rage at your own powerlessness

and helplessness in the face
of that dying and that gore.

Rage at a machine
that crashes and kills.

Rage, maybe even at God's will,
for whatever reason in this case...

That's a lot of malarkey!
The truth is, I failed.

I failed you and I
failed the Department

because I can't handle being
a professional all the time!

Well, who asked you to be?

You make it sound
like a dirty word.

You're a great ME because
you do have feelings.

Because everything you touch
has a kind of freshness to it.

Of course, you were profoundly
moved by the death of that little girl.

Her life moved you.

It probably rekindled the same
feelings you had when your wife died.

Quincy, come on now. You
don't have to control those feelings.

Now, just admit them.
Surrender the guilt.

Let go of your
rage. It's okay...

Will you stop telling
me what I feel?

No, I'm not gonna stop
telling you till you admit it!

You think because we
deal with death all the time,

that none of us has any feelings. I mean,
we're just robots, but you're special.

Who do you think you are?

I'm gonna tell you something.

I've seen Sam go behind the
lockers. You know, in the corner?

I've seen him cry sometimes.

And I've seen Mark do it.

And I'll admit something to you.

I'm the head of a department and yet,
when I get worried about these disasters,

I go down on my knees and I say
a prayer to help me get through it.

You don't have to be stronger
than the rest of us, Quincy.

You're a human being.

It's okay.

It's okay.

Well, I'll see you
at work tomorrow?

A pizza offering?

- A Chianti refuse. Come on in!
- Thanks.

Doctor Quincy, Melanie Bridges.

A flight attendant who was
also on the four-forty-two with me.

- How do you do?
- And Doctor Edward Herrara,

former Associate Director of
Aviation Medicine for the FAA.

Doctor Quincy is from the
Medical Examiner's Office.

He's the man I told you
about who pulled me out...

Boy, this is hot.
Can I put this down?

- Sure!
- Please, go right ahead.

Holly told us all about what
you did out there. What can I say?

Don't say anything.

Doctor, it's a real
pleasure. I've gotta tell you.

As a matter of fact, we were
just talking about you before...

I got your name out
of the accident report.

I should've called first, huh?

That's all right. Relax.
I'll get another plate.

There's plenty of pizza.

Shoot. If I'd known, I would have
brought a bagel and cream cheese.

- You did great.
- I brought anchovies,
you like that?

So-so.

What is that green stuff?

I still don't believe it!

You're telling me that commercial
domestic airlines can fly up to fifty miles

out over water without any
kind of life rafts on them?

I'll go you one better.

Seven airlines are exempted to fly a
hundred and sixty two miles over water,

without life rafts or out of
water flotation equipment.

Coffee?

Black, please.

Well, what about the FAA?
Don't they have regulations?

They have regulations, all right,
but they're murderously inadequate.

For example, the FAA
stipulates that, commercial aircraft,

whose flight path is over water,
must carry individual flotation devices.

That is, for each passenger.

So you either get a life jacket,
or a flotation seat cushion.

Now, imagine yourself fifty
miles out in the Pacific somewhere,

with only a flotation seat
cushion separating you and death.

And the life vests? What a joke!

They were designed over forty
years ago for military pilots to put on

before they got in their planes!

Look, an airliner goes down
in the ocean. There's panic.

There's no question
about it. A few lights, if any.

Now, you've got to find your life
jacket in an under-seat compartment,

which is buried beneath
your carry-on luggage.

All right, now you've got it.

You unpack it. You
find the front, slip it on,

pull the straps through the
clips, and jump out of the plane.

Now, you pull
the inflation tabs.

Only if they don't work, you've
got to blow them up manually,

while you're in the water.

How on earth is a
sixty-five-year-old grandmother,

on her first airplane trip,
gonna figure all of that out?

Even when her
life depends on it?

Wow.

I don't understand it.

I mean, I just
don't understand it.

The lifesaving
solution is so simple.

Now, why won't the airlines
put rafts on their planes?

Because they'd rather put their
money into advertising, public relations,

plush carpeting and
champagne buffets.

Safety equipment
doesn't sell tickets, Doctor.

Well, the FAA is gonna have
to make the airlines put rafts on!

Let me give you a
warning about the FAA.

They know how to take the heat.

Yeah?

Then maybe it's time
we turned up the flame.

And once more, Doctor Quincy,
I really resent your implication

that the FAA doesn't give a
damn about the life raft issue.

Then why is your agency
so reluctant to order

that life rafts be on
planes that go over water?

'Cause considering the statistical
reliability of modern jet engines,

they are just not necessary.

Not necessary? How
do you justify that?

Very easily. If you would've
stopped to check the facts,

you would have found
that, since the introduction

of passenger jet aircraft in 1959,
not one jet ever ditched at sea.

What about my flight?
Flight four-four-two?

That excursion is considered an
unintentional water impact, not a ditching.

Excursion? Unintentional water
impact? It crashed, Mr. Shepard!

Listen, no matter
what you call it,

that plane crashed into the ocean
and ninety-seven people died.

Primarily because there
were no rafts on that plane!

Listen, don't make me out to
be some heartless bureaucrat.

I feel bad enough
about that accident.

Statistically, it never
should have happened.

But it did, damn
it! I was on it!

I'm sorry, I really am,
but my hands are tied.

Airlines feel that carrying five or six
life rafts takes up unnecessary room,

additional weight, requires extra
fuel to carry, and is of absolutely no use

in a non-survivable,
no-notice water impact.

Besides, overhead rafts are
only good in a planned ditching.

What if someone inflates
one inside the cabin?

You're protecting
the airlines' profits.

What about protecting
the passengers?

We do protect the passengers.

The FAA is also mandated to protect
and promote the welfare of the airlines.

How do you justify working
both sides of the street?

That's the law,
Doctor. I didn't make it.

I may not necessarily
believe in it, but I abide by it.

Now, if you don't like
it, if you think it's wrong,

then you have my blessings to
go to Washington and change it.

Well, we might do just that!

Mr. Chairman,
with all due respect,

I must strongly protest the
inclusion of any medical testimony

in these proceedings as being
clearly prejudicial and irrelevant.

I understand your point,
Mr. Richmond. Senator McGreevy?

Mr. Chairman, I've spoken
to Doctor Quincy in my office.

He's assured me that he will not
introduce any medical testimony,

which would
require corroboration.

All right, Doctor Quincy, this
subcommittee will hear your testimony.

Doctor Quincy, you realize that
although this is not a court of law,

you're still under oath.

Yes, sir. I understand, and I
appreciate you hearing me.

Believe me, I wouldn't be taking up
your time if there was any other way

to change the deadly,
unresponsive attitude of the FAA.

Mr. Chairman! I object to
this inflammatory editorializing!

Well, I agree.

Doctor Quincy, please confine
your remarks to the issue

of additional
appropriations to the FAA.

I apologize.

But, please, hear me out.

I am a Senior Medical Examiner
for the County of Los Angeles.

When Transglobal flight four-four-two
crashed into Santa Monica Bay,

I was on the Coast Guard cutter
that was the first to arrive on the scene.

Senators, in my profession, I
deal with deal on a daily basis.

But the scene at that crash was one of
the most horrifying experiences of my life.

Little children,

disabled elderly
people, strong men,

they're all dead and dying right
in front of me of hypothermia.

And I was powerless,
absolutely powerless to help them.

Do you have any idea
what that feeling is like?

Senators, I come here
today to ask you, no...

I come here today to beg you not
appropriate one penny more for the FAA

until they change their regulations to
require commercial scheduled airlines

to put accessible life
rafts or flotation platforms

on every single plane that
takes off or lands over water!

With all the money spent on
advertising, and stereo, and movies,

and carpeting and liquor,

a forty-two man life raft

costs less than two
thousand dollars.

That's less than a penny a
passenger in a year's time.

Now, the FAA has the authority
to order those rafts on planes!

Why are they so
negligent about it?

Why don't they do what they're
supposed to do about passenger safety?

Mr. Chairman, this man is
painting a picture of the FAA

as some blase agency

that sets up regulations
by capricious whim.

Now, you know that's not the
case. We spent a great deal of time,

and I might add
taxpayers' money, studying

and examining Doctor
Quincy's concern for life rafts.

And our well-documented conclusion
is that they are just not necessary!

Just not necessary! I don't
believe you. Here is your own report.

Over the last twenty years, forty-four jet
aircrafts have gone down into the water.

Yes, but only eighteen of
them were American planes.

And all of them were
no-notice water impacts.

Statistically non-survivable!

Yeah, non-survivable because
you didn't order rafts on the planes!

Eighteen jet aircrafts go down in the
water because they're not supposed to.

Statistically, the FAA says

these people are not worth saving
statistically. Is that what you're saying?

And I know your terms, "Unintentional
water impact," "Engine departs plane,"

"Excursion off runway." But you
know the one that really galls me?

The one that really gets to me?
Casualties are statistically insignificant.

Well, let me tell you something.

The victims' families don't think those
deaths are statistically insignificant.

The husbands and the wives
and the children and their friends.

To them, believe me, those deaths are
anything but statistically insignificant.

Mr. Chairman, if I may?

Go ahead, Mr. Richmond.

We are fully aware

of the necessity of
overwater flight safety

for all air passengers.

Consequently, our
regulations stipulate

that all commercial aircraft

flying up to a limit of fifty
nautical miles from land

must carry

individual flotation
equipment for each passenger.

Now, in my judgment, that is sufficient
to ensure the safety of each passenger.

Perhaps, our good
Doctor wasn't aware of that.

Doctor Quincy.

I was aware of
it, all right, sir.

I was well aware of it

'cause I saw it firsthand.

Senators, with your indulgence,
I'd like to conduct an experiment.

I hope you'll all go along
with me on a mock crash.

I cannot tell you how many lives
might be saved if you cooperate, please.

Thank you.

In doing your jobs, I'm sure
most of you fly a great deal.

Let's suppose you're
on a plane right now,

taking off for say, La
Guardia Airport in New York.

You take off, and without warning,
your jet goes down in Flushing Bay.

You have less than sixty seconds to
get out of that plane and into the water,

no matter how cold that water
may be, because the plane is sinking.

Now, with Senator
McGreevey's permission,

I was in these chambers earlier
and I taped standard issue life jackets

under each of your seats. Please
check to see if you could find them.

Okay. Now, don't think
of this as a game, please.

Seriously pretend that you're
on a plane that's going down.

Your lives, Senators,
every one of your lives

depend on getting
that jacket on properly.

Now, there's panic,
and there's screaming,

and there are injured people,

but you have to get that
jacket on properly or you will die.

Before you start, I would
like to have a stewardess

demonstrate how
to put them on. Holly.

Take the life vest out
of the plastic container.

Put if over your head,

now take the two
straps from behind

and attach them to
the ring in the front.

Pull on the yellow tabs
to tighten the straps.

Pull sharply on the red tabs

to inflate the vest after
you have exited the aircraft.

If it doesn't inflate,

the vest can be inflated
manually. Thank you.

You've got only sixty seconds
to get them on and get here.

Go.

(CLATTERING)

Twenty seconds.

Forty seconds.

You have to blow it up now.

Time!

Well, only two of you made it. And you,
Senator, I'm afraid made it improperly.

You would've drowned.

The rest of you never got to
the door. Thank you, gentlemen.

How do we get out of these?

So, really, only
one of you made it.

And you're among the most intelligent,
most educated people in the country.

Senators, these jackets were
supplied by Mr. Mitchell Demming,

the co-pilot of the plane that crashed
into Santa Monica Bay last week.

The life jackets were identical to
the jackets aboard that ill-fated plane.

You saw for yourselves how inadequate
they would be in a real emergency.

And what's worse? Not all planes
traveling over water even carry these.

Some carry floatable
seat cushions.

What's important here is that, even
if every passenger on every plane

had a life jacket like this, and
they all got them on properly,

most of those people would die in
the water anyway due to hypothermia.

A process where your body loses
its precious life-sustaining heat

thirty times faster than
in the surrounding air.

In forty-five degree
water, like in Flushing Bay,

you would be dead of hypothermia
in less than thirty minutes.

So I beg you, make the
FAA change their regulations.

Make the airlines carry rafts.

Doctor Quincy, we
appreciate your testimony.

We'll certainly take it
under serious advisement.

Yes?

Well, I was just
wondering, is that all?

Well, what did you expect? We are obligated
to look at all sides of this issue.

Besides, ours is
not the final word.

What we find, we bring to
the full Senate for debate.

May I ask, Senator,
how long that will be?

Well, I imagine we'll get into
the debate sometime this session.

Who knows, the whole thing could
be resolved in, maybe, two years?

Two years?

Two years? Do you realize how
many people can die in two years?

We move slowly and cautiously,
Doctor, but we do move.

Now, if there's no
further business,

this committee
meeting is adjourned.

You gave it your best
shot, Doctor Quincy.

I'm not through yet. This
is one fight I'm gonna finish.

Well, it was a good start.
That's all it was, was a start.

I'm gonna get on every TV talk show
there is. I'm gonna talk to newspapers,

magazines, street corners.
Any place people will listen.

I'm gonna get those airlines
to put rafts on those planes.

- Excuse me, Doctor Quincy?
- Yes.

Senior Medical Examiner
for the County of Los Angeles?

- That's right.
- This is for you.

What is it?

Well, you've just
been served, Doctor.

This is a defamation suit against
you brought by Transglobal Airlines.

And if you read the fine print,
the plaintiffs have also secured

a restraining order that expressly
prohibits you from making

any public pronouncements that
can be construed as either damaging

or slanderous to the airline.

Doctor, you've just been gagged.