Original subtitles

Our guy has two inbound, but we nailed them and have bagged the whole squad.

That'll teach the squids not to mess with Marines.

Miramar Control, Red Dog 1 -5 is point alpha with a flight of two.

1 -5, Miramar Control, you are clear to the ring. 1 -5, roger.

Wildcat, Red Dog, you ready to save the squad designer?

Ready and able, Red Dog.

How low you gonna go?

Hey, burring animals better not stick their heads up.

See you on deck, Wildcat.

Copy that, Red Dog.

Point Bravo in ten seconds.

Better pick your feet up. All ready to shut down, sir.

Now turn engaged.

I'm hands off.

Red Dog in Point Bravo.

The turn's got us too high. They're going to tail him.

We need to teach this computer some moves, sir.

Contact, I think.

There!

Oh, God!

Look at you!

Aircraft down!

Aircraft down!

Three -Niner, Miramar Control.

Abort! Abort! Climb to Angels 1 -5.

Establish left -hand orbit.

Why do you board Miramar?

We have an aircraft down.

Three -Niner, do you see a parachute?

Over.

Negative, Miramar.

Three -Niner does not see a parachute.

Lieutenant Hendry's mission was to simulate taking out an Avenger missile

manned by Marines.

It was the toughest mission profile in our intra -squadron competition.

None of the howlers at Lieutenant Hendry's squadron took it out. What was

mission profile?

Well, basically, it was coming in low in one direction while his wingman made

her approach from another.

Wingman's female?

Lieutenant Tess McKean.

One of the best from what I hear.

Did the Marines get a lock on Lucinda Pender before he augured in?

Nope. They didn't see him until they came over that hill.

Inverted.

His profile called for low -level inverted flight?

No, sir.

And he was flying aft -turn.

It's difficult to understand why he was inverted.

Aft -turn?

Auto -precision, terrain, radar navigation.

I know what it is, but it's an Air Force system. What's it doing in a Navy

Comcast? Defense cutback, sir.

DOD is pushing hard for inter -service system commonality. Save the R &D.

Unfortunately, sometimes you save money, you lose lives.

The truth is, we've never had any problem with the Apturn system.

Until now.

This crash wasn't caused by Apturn, Lieutenant.

James Reed, Macroplex.

Lieutenants Rabb and Austin, JAG.

I think a Macroplex manufactures Apturn. That's right, Lieutenant. We check

every incident involving one of our systems.

In fact, the Pentagon requires it.

Not all of our products are perfect, but Apturn's close to it.

Even if it caused this crash?

Tell you what, Lieutenant Rabb.

If you don't jump to conclusions about Apturn, I won't jump to conclusions

Lieutenant Pendry.

Fair enough?

Fair enough.

Obviously, Lieutenants Pendry and Marcus were killed instantly.

We have removed their bodies, but there may still be body parts in the area.

Luke was one of the best, a natural.

Maybe that's why he could push the envelope a little further than most.

He took chances, sir.

In this business, you take a chance every time you go up, Lieutenant.

Yes, sir, but you implied that he took more than most, or do I not understand

what pushing the envelope means, sir?

Perhaps you don't. As I understand it, sir, it means going to the known limit

an aircraft and then a little beyond.

Close enough.

And we all do it, at one time or another.

Yes, sir, but you said Lieutenant Pendry pushed the envelope a little further

than most. Because he had the talent to get away with it. Lieutenant Austin,

wasn't Lieutenant McKee scheduled to join us by now? Would you mind stepping

outside and see what's keeping her?

Certainly, sir.

What are you trying to do, combat? Been in an exercise?

Luke didn't give a damn if the mission was real or simulated.

He wanted to win.

Yeah, but to go inverted to avoid negative Gs?

Man, you gotta be crazy to try something like that on the deck. Good shot.

Lieutenant McKee.

Lieutenant Austin Jag.

I'm sorry about Lieutenant Pendry. I heard he was a good man.

You have no idea, Lieutenant.

I heard about what you did on the Seahawk.

Hell of a feat.

Considering you hadn't flown a Tomcat in four years. I got lucky, sir. Take that

sometimes.

Especially when you're highly competitive.

Aren't most good pilots, sir?

Of course.

But Luke would have loved being the only one to nail that, Sam.

Commander.

Could he have pushed it too far?

No. He just ran out of luck.

Nothing more than that.

Conditions were ideal.

Clear visibility, no turbulence. It was by the numbers.

Then just as I began my run, Miramar told me to abort and...

Asked me to look for chutes.

There weren't any.

Did Lieutenant Pendry communicate with you during his run at the target? Just a

break. To start my attack.

How long have you been flying with Aptur?

About three months.

Any problems?

No. The terrain -seeking radar is accurate, and it performs specific

as programmed by the mission profile.

But you don't like it.

No pilot likes to turn control over to a black box.

Did Lieutenant Pendry dislike Apturn, too?

Felt the same as the rest of us?

Would he have shut down Apturn to fly the Tomcat himself?

No.

Well, the mission profile called for the use of Apturn. He would not have turned

it off unless it were malfunctioning.

Was it malfunctioning?

I don't know. I wasn't in his cockpit, Lieutenant.

But Lieutenant Pendry liked to fly on the edge.

On the edge of what?

I think you know what I mean, Lieutenant.

No, I don't think I do, Lieutenant.

If none of the Howlers flew a successful mission using Apturn, maybe Lieutenant

Pendry thought he could do better without it.

He probably could.

But the competition called for the use of Apturn, and Luke was a professional.

Thank you, Lieutenant.

I have more questions, sir. So do I, Lieutenant, but we can ask them as the

investigation proceeds.

What was that about?

She just lost her wingman going a little easy.

We have an investigation to run, sir.

I'm aware of that, Lieutenant, which is why I want you to pull all the gripe

sheets on Apturne for Navy and Air Force.

I want to know about every problem they've ever had or thought they've had,

matter how trivial.

Yes, sir.

I'm going to visit Lieutenant Pendry's wife.

I'll meet you later, sir.

Calling out.

Telling me you're here.

He would have liked to have seen you.

Hey, Josh?

Remember her?

Hi, Josh.

I don't think he really understands you.

I think he does.

You miss flying?

I go up every now and then. When I can find a CO who'll let me play.

That's what it is, isn't it?

Playing.

You're all just boys playing with bigger toys.

Well, I like to think it's a little more than that, Annie.

It's not.

Listen, Annie.

I'm heading up the investigation.

I'm surprised they're letting you. I mean...

You and Lucas being such good friends and all. I don't think they know.

Oh.

Well, you know, Lucas wouldn't want you to get yourself in any trouble on his

account.

Yes, he would.

Hey, Mom!

Hey.

You're supposed to be cleaning your room.

It's clean.

Did you fly with my daddy?

Long time ago.

He was the best, wasn't he?

Yes, he was.

Why did he cry?

I don't know, Josh, but I'm going to find out.

This is the last time I take directions from an old club waitress.

The way she looked at you, they were probably directing to her house.

Very funny, Lieutenant.

Do you have anything there?

No after -related accidents have ever been reported.

How frequently do they have to be recalibrated?

About once every 16 .5 hours of flight time. That's actually pretty good for a

chip -driven avionics system.

Here it is.

Let's figure some Navy or Air Force. They didn't separate them. Do it. Yes,

Sorry we're late, sir. We were misdirected. Is that a pilot's way of

lost, Lieutenant?

Pilots don't get lost, Mr. Regis.

Momentarily disoriented.

Let's get started, Lieutenant Stance.

Aye, sir.

We have two visuals for you today.

First, based upon the mission profile, we have a computer -animated cockpit

of Lieutenant Pendry's attack as it was intended to be executed.

Ready, sir.

Here, Lieutenant Pendry is making his descent to initiate his attack.

Point Bravo.

This is where he engaged Apturn and radioed Lieutenant McKee to initiate her

attack. As you can see, Apturn, with its pre -programmed flight path, is taking

maximum advantage of the terrain as it approaches the target.

Point Charlie. This is where he fires his Maverick and breaks away to escape

a pre -programmed route.

That's what was supposed to happen.

Here's what did.

Lieutenant Pendry made his descent on profile, and he crossed Point Bravo on

profile.

But at 1 .5 seconds before Point Charlie, he goes

inverted and impacts the ground, 7 tenths of a second later.

Looked to me like Lieutenant Pendry shifted to shut off the app turn and

control before going inverted.

I didn't see that.

It appears that he did, Lieutenant.

The Apturn system uses an indented switch designed to lock into place when

engaged, but it was in the off position.

Can't blame Apturn if it wasn't even on.

Unless he shut it off because it was malfunctioning. Apturn doesn't

Lieutenant Rav.

Those gripe sheets Lieutenant Austin has will bear me out.

Even if it did, Apturn's designed to automatically roll the wings level and

initiate a 4G pitch -up.

What if that was malfunctioning? Faye said, Lieutenant, he thought he could do

better on his own, so he shut Apturn down and went over the hill inverted.

To avoid negative G.

Exactly.

To stay low over the hill would have subjected him to too many negative Gs.

Inverted, he could have stayed on the deck and got off his shot.

From all I hear, Lieutenant Pendry was a man who liked to win. Maybe he thought

this was the only way.

He wasn't reckless, Mr. Reed.

I appreciate your position, Lieutenant Reb.

I really do.

You room with a man in flight school. It forms a bond.

I didn't mean to drop a bombshell, Lieutenant.

I assumed you disclosed your relationship with Lieutenant Pendry

accepting this assignment.

It will in no way undermine my objectivity, Mr. Reed. It already has,

Lieutenant.

Mind if I join you, Lieutenant?

Not at all.

I heard that you stuck up for Luke.

I just want to tell you how much the Howlers appreciate that.

I'm standing up for the truth, Lieutenant, which I hope is on Luke's

I thought these guys were all supposed to be legends.

They are.

Some legend. He almost took two of my men with him.

All a flyboy's got to do to get up on that wall is screw the pooch.

Sorry,

she was his wingman.

Well, she's acting like she was more than just his wingman.

Neither do I.

I'm all for equality, honey.

But you don't want to be treated equal in Marine Brawl.

Get out of here!

Thank

you,

sir. Have a good evening.

Sorry, Lieutenant.

Thanks for jumping in there. That gyrene ticked me off.

Really?

It's this next lift.

How long did you fly with Luke?

A month.

Hang out together much?

You know, other pilots hang out with each other. People...

People don't automatically assume they're sleeping together.

I'm good.

Thanks for the ride.

Save me a cab fare.

Anytime, Lieutenant.

You know, I'm not going to say I didn't have feelings for Luke.

I want him back more than anything.

So do I.

This is Pendry, James Reed.

I represent a military contractor. I wanted to tell you how much we respected

your husband.

He's a great loss for all of us.

Thank you, Mr. Reed.

Young man, your father was a fine man and a fine pilot. You should be very

of him.

I'll be in touch.

I wish you meant that, Mr. Reed.

Lieutenant, none of this is personal. Just because I have a job to do doesn't

mean I'm not sorry the man's dead.

Gee, you're a real sensitive guy, so long as it doesn't interfere with the

bottom line.

Everybody's got a family to feed, Lieutenant, even people who work for

corporations.

Mrs. Pendry seems like a fine woman.

Little boy's nice, too.

It'd be a shame if Lieutenant Pendry's memory was marred by something ugly.

What are you talking about?

Sometimes it's better just to let things go, Lieutenant Rab.

What did he mean?

I'm not sure.

I owe you an apology, Lieutenant.

You're my partner. I should have told you about my friendship with Lieutenant

Henry. No apology necessary, sir.

Sir, is it possible you might be a little too personally involved?

I don't question your integrity for a second hand, but you are human.

You care about Lieutenant Pendry, you care about his family.

I just don't believe he screwed the pooch. How can you be so sure with all

evidence against him?

I can't explain it, Meg.

You fly with a guy, you get to know him.

Maybe better than you know yourself.

That was years ago.

People change.

In some ways, maybe.

But if anything, most pilots I've known become more careful once they have kids.

Luke may have been competitive, but he wasn't crazy.

The problem is, how are you going to prove it, hon?

Sending malfunction now.

Haven't we seen enough that the eighth malfunction we've created for Apturne,

every time it's put him into a wing level, knows up recovery.

All the day, Lieutenant Rapp.

I'd like to try another, sir.

Lieutenant, we've fed every malfunction we've created for Apturne, and it hasn't

crashed you yet.

If you want to try something, try flying the mission inverted, like Lieutenant

Pendry did.

Roger that.

Are you sure you want to try this without Apturne?

Only way to know.

Coming up on Point Bravo.

to burn to them standing by.

You're dead, Lieutenant.

Once you inverted that low, you didn't have a chance.

Now will you write up your report?

We still don't know why Lieutenant Pendry was inverted. Because he wanted

win. Could there be an interface problem between Apturn and the autopilot?

It would have shown up on the front out.

Lieutenant Rabb, I'd like to believe it was Apturn and not Luke, but you've

exhausted all possibilities.

I think it's time we faced reality.

Perhaps not, sir.

Do you know how often Afton has to be recalibrated? An average of once every

.5 flight hours.

Well, that's a combined figure for the Air Force and the Navy. The Air Force

figure is 22 .3, and in the Navy it has to be recalibrated every 8 .1 hours.

That's nearly three times as often.

It's relatively new to the Navy. Your technicians aren't as proficient as the

Air Force yet.

I wonder when Lieutenant Pendry's Afton was recalibrated. I'll check it out.

No, Mr. Reed, we will.

You don't quit, do you, Lieutenant?

No, sir.

Well, neither do I, Lieutenant Rabb.

What's wrong, Lieutenant? We may finally be on to something significant.

I don't think so, sir. I looked up the maintenance report on Lieutenant

Tomcat. Afternoons recalibrated the morning of his final flight.

Why didn't you say so in the room?

I didn't want to give Mr. Reed the satisfaction.

We have to promptly disclose facts, Lieutenant. Throw our car.

Yes, sir.

There has to be a reason for the interval difference beyond technicians

up to speak.

If you say so, sir.

You don't believe me?

I believe Lieutenant Pendry was a close personal friend, and you're grasping at

Straub, and you have me doing it.

Sounds like something Reed would say. I don't like him any more than you do,

Harm, but that doesn't mean everything that comes out of his mouth is wrong.

Anything else?

I've been hearing rumors about Lieutenant Pendry in the cave.

So have I. I don't believe them.

Well, if true, it could explain why he would try something as risky as going in

inverted. Well, you want to write this up as showing off for a girlfriend? If

was having personal problems, it could have affected his flying. Not Luke.

Reed's probably heard the rumors.

I'm sure he has.

He'll use them. Yes, he will.

Have you thought about how that could affect his family?

Meg, this isn't just about salvaging Luke's reputation or protecting his

If that turns flawed, finding the flaw will save lives.

And that is our ultimate responsibility.

You sound like my dad.

Uh -oh.

I'm in trouble when you start comparing me to your father.

My brother?

Even worse.

I'm sorry. I didn't hear you come in. That's okay. I'm early.

You fixed it.

Good as new.

Will you help me fight, sir?

Well.

Go on. I'll join you outside.

Cool.

Hey, I'm not checked out in this model.

Tweaked in a little up elevator.

What's that do?

It puts down pressure on the tail, which causes the nose to rise.

The air travels at different speeds over the top and bottom control surfaces,

breaking the lift on the... Next time you're in a car, stick your hand out the

window. Tilt it like this, and your arm will fly up, just like your top cat.

Go wash up, young man.

I'm clean.

Yeah, you're filthy.

I should make you take a bath before dinner.

I'm going to fly first.

Josh.

Listen to your mom.

Yes, sir.

A man's voice.

Women like to think it doesn't make a difference, but it does.

No, I don't know.

My dad went down. My mom kept a pretty tight rein on me.

I forgot all about that.

How old were you?

Josh's age.

And you became a naval aviator because your dad was one.

I suppose it had a lot to do with it.

I don't want Josh flying.

He's only six, Annie.

Yeah, that's when it starts.

I suppose Luke wasn't around any more than my dad.

Two years and six months out of nearly eight years of marriage.

when he was home.

It was perfect.

Maybe because of all the time he was away, I don't know.

How do the wives feel now that women are being deployed at sea?

Most of them don't like it.

It never bothered me.

Even with a wingman as pretty as Lieutenant McKee?

He wasn't sleeping with Tess.

No, listen, I've heard the rumors, and that's what they are, rumors.

Annie, I'm sorry.

It's just been suggested that personal problems might have played a part in the

accident.

With what Luke and I had, he didn't have to look anywhere else.

It was mine.

And I was his.

And that's just the way it was, okay?

Don't show him to me.

Lieutenant Rab's the inspecting officer this evening.

That pendry sounds like a lot of fun.

Yeah, he wants that.

Been much time with him and Annie?

Some.

Uh -oh. Lieutenant, can I buy you a drink as a way of apologizing?

Some other night.

Name it.

I'll let you know.

I'll be waiting.

Marines.

You know, they're the only species on the planet that will develop a crush on

you if you punch them out.

Oh, I think you know where we were, Lieutenant.

Or at least where we were headed.

You know what? Let me ask the question for a second.

You find Lieutenant Rabb attractive?

Um, yeah.

You work together, seem off -duty occasionally.

Yeah.

Do you sleep with him?

Ah, fair, fair, Lieutenant.

I'm the one conducting the investigation.

Well, let me put it this way.

Do you think it's possible you might sleep with him someday?

I don't know. I guess anything's possible.

If you were married?

No.

That's not a possibility.

Why not?

Because that's not who I am. And that's not who he is.

It's not who we were either.

If I had to bet, I'd bet against it.

But you're not sure? No.

But he is.

Going to wrap this up today, Lieutenant?

I doubt it, sir. Then I think you should read this.

A source close to the investigation of the crash which claimed the lives of

Lieutenants Lucas Pendry and Stuart Marcus revealed that Lieutenant Pendry

an affair with his female wingman, resulting in her pregnancy and

abortion. That's it.

Check the date.

The paper.

Check the date.

What's that?

Tomorrow. That's a mock -up.

of what the world will see tomorrow if you don't conclude your investigation

today. You can't blackmail us with an ugly lie.

It's not a lie, Lieutenant.

Affidavits from people who saw Lieutenants Pendry and McKee together in

A doctor's bill for a DNC, which, as we all know, is a euphemism for abortion.

And affidavits from two nurses who saw Lieutenant Pendry pick Lieutenant McKee

up at the hospital.

All circumstantial. We're not in a court of law, Lieutenant.

Even if it's true, it doesn't prove pilot error.

Somehow I don't think the Navy would agree with you, and the public certainly

wouldn't.

I don't want to tarnish the memory of a brave man or embarrass his family, but I

do intend to protect Macroplex from investigating officers wearing blinders.

How far I have to go to do that is up to you.

Permission to come aboard, sir.

Permission granted.

Not much room in here.

You wear a fighter cockpit.

Like a pair of pantyhose.

Did she deny it?

Nope.

And it wasn't an abortion.

She miscarried.

I thought better of Luke.

No need to change your opinion.

He wasn't the father.

The what?

Privileged information.

We're on the same team, Meg.

My telling you is not going to change the outcome of our investigation,

Where's Aptern?

Here, next to the autopilot.

I still think it's our fault.

There is no way Luke would have intentionally inverted that low.

Did Lieutenant Stans feed every possible apturn malfunction to the simulator?

Everything anyone could think.

Maybe it's some seemingly insignificant thing Luke did that had never been done

before.

Fate is the hunter.

What? It's a film. Everyone wants to blame a fatal crash on the dead pilot,

Taylor. Who's Rod Taylor?

An actor.

They said it was pilot error, but Glenn Ford didn't believe him. Another actor?

So he recreates the flight down to the smallest detail.

On a computer?

They didn't have computers. I saw this movie when I was a kid.

Oh, you mean way back.

He even had Suzanne Foucher to play the surviving stewardess. Oh, I know her.

Bring coffee to the cockpit like she did the night of the crash. Turns out to be

the key to why they went down.

Coffee.

He put the cup on the console.

When they lost an engine, it spilled, shorting out all the instruments, which

then gave them false readings.

I don't think Lieutenant Pendry had coffee in his cockpit.

Well, we don't know what he had or did the night of the crash, and no computer

can exactly duplicate that unless I... Play Glenn Ford.

Exactly.

But there is no way in hell I'll ever get permission.

Maybe there is.

Lieutenant Rabb, it is out of the question. Sir, there are unknowns the

can't factor.

Lieutenant, there was nothing wrong with Apturn. The only person who won't

accept that is you. I'd like a chance to find out, Commander.

If something went wrong, it could end my career and your life.

I'm willing to risk it, sir. I'm not.

Lieutenant Pendry was a good man.

But he was human.

He made a mistake.

He wasn't the only one, Commander.

Meaning? I understand Lieutenant McKee became pregnant recently, sir.

That's her business, Lieutenant.

Provided it doesn't interfere with the duties.

Yes, sir.

But the father was a member of the squadron, and Mr. Reed is going to make

public. Damn him.

He believes Lieutenant Pendry was the father.

People make mistakes.

Man shouldn't have to risk losing his career for one mistake.

No, sir.

If I can't prove it wasn't pilot error, Mr. Reed will make public what he

believes to be true.

It's hard enough for a boy to grow up without his father.

He shouldn't have to be ashamed of him, too.

Weight, balance, ordnance, fuel load. Every spec identical to Lieutenant

Hendry's last flight. Except no one's in the back seat.

Can't risk it. I can.

No way, Lieutenant.

He was my friend, too.

If no one's in the back seat, then it won't be the same as Luke's last flight.

I'll compensate with dead weight.

Dead weight can't hand you a cup of coffee, sir.

What? Fate is the hunter.

Suzanne Bouchette gave Glenn Ford a cup of coffee. Go get your flight care,

Lieutenant.

You take off in five minutes.

Proceed to the America, then make five landings, and fly the mission. Five

traps? That's what Lieutenant Pendry did the morning of his flight.

That's like preparing for a football game with five boxing matches.

That's fine.

MCAD 04 for fall.

8 .9.

Sorry,

I'm a little rusty.

You're not rusty, Lieutenant. You're corroded.

That's over. You're making me wish I'd joined the Air Force.

Miramar Control, Tomcat 04, point Alpha.

04, Miramar Control, you are cleared to the range. zero four roger here we go

after

zero to point brahma engaging after

Shut it off. Negative. I'm overriding first.

That's still indicating we're in verdict. Shutting it down now.

Come on, Harm.

Hold up.

When you disengage Afturn, it's programmed to roll wings level with a 4G

up, which is fine unless Afturn thinks you're flying upside down.

Then it throws you on your back and down.

It must have inverted on Luke. Yes.

It rolled him over and dove him into the ground.

What made Afturn think you were inverted?

My guess is those five traps I made before the mission did something to it.

That's why the recalibration frequency is higher for the Navy than the Air

Force. Apturn wasn't designed to take the pounding of carrier landings.

It will be.

Thanks to Lieutenants Raab and McKee.

It wasn't Luke's fault, Tess.

04 Miramar, will you be returning to base?

Miramar 04.

We're going to orbit the area for a while.

I'll take you to the platter game this weekend.

Cool. He's a doctor. I know.

Doctors are very important, Josh. They help people who are sick.

They save lives.

Is there something you might want to think about when you're getting older

you decide what you want to do with your life?