ValuJet worker: Oxygen canisters were labeled 'empty'

November 19, 1996
Web posted at: 3:30 p.m. EST

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Testimony: Crew didn't question canisters
NTSB: SabreTech testimony not needed
SabreTech objects to NTSB tests
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MIAMI (CNN) -- The lead ramp agent for Valujet Flight 592 testified Tuesday he had no misgivings about shipping oxygen canisters on the doomed plane because the shipping labels indicated the containers were empty.

The mislabeled canisters, which actually contained oxygen-making chemicals, are suspected of starting a fire in the plane's cargo hold on May 11. The DC-9 crashed into the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 people aboard.

Ramp agent Christopher Ramkissoon testified at the opening of a second day of National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hearings into the disaster.

Although shipping such potentially flammable material was not allowed on ValuJet planes, Ramkissoon said his curiosity was not aroused because the label said the canisters were empty and they were not marked as hazardous material. (115K/10 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

Crew didn't question canisters, either

The canisters, which contain a mixture of chemicals, can generate heat up to 500 degrees when they are triggered to provide oxygen to passenger emergency masks. The containers aboard Flight 592 were being shipped to ValuJet's headquarters in Atlanta and were not for use on the plane.

Ramkissoon said he showed the shipping ticket to the flight crew before the plane took off and that no questions were asked.

NTSB: SabreTech testimony not needed

The SabreTech mechanics who handled the canisters and the stock clerk who boxed them up for shipping have declined to testify at the hearing, citing their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.

NTSB member John Goglia said Tuesday that the SabreTech workers had already cooperated extensively with investigators and their testimony wasn't necessary.

Five boxes containing 144 metal canisters were packed in white cardboard boxes, Ramkissoon said.

Dennis Segarra, another ValuJet ramp agent, testified that when he placed the boxes on top of the tires in the cargo hold he heard a metallic-sounding clinking noise. He said he wedged the boxes so they wouldn't move.

Jostling during flight could have activated the canisters, according to experts.

SabreTech objects to NTSB tests

SabreTech distributed a letter on Tuesday objecting to tests conducted by the NTSB on oxygen-generating canisters like those shipped on Fight 592. The company says the tests were "not representative of the conditions that may have existed on ValuJet Flight 592 on May 11, 1996."

SabreTech said it was formally objecting to the use of any data from the tests or the showing of video tapes of the tests.

The letter was distributed by SabreTech officials during a break in Tuesday's hearing. When the hearing resumed, NTSB board member Goglia chastised SabreTech, saying the release of the letter, written to the NTSB's chief negotiator Greg Feith, was inappropriate.

Correspondent Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.

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