Survivor says oxygen and liquor ignited crashed jet
     CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (August 17, 1997 09:40 a.m. EDT) - The
 New Zealand survivor of the Korean Air Flight 801 crash believes
 oxygen from emergency masks and duty free alcohol fueled the initial
 fire on the jumbo jet.
     In an interview with NZPA, South Island helicopter pilot Barry
 Small said he saw the fire start inside the plane as it plowed into
 the side of a hill above Guam Aug. 6. Twenty-six people survived the
 crash in which 228 people died in one of the worst air accidents in
 recent times.
     Guam naval hospital said Small was the luckiest person in the
 plane because his injuries were the least suffered by the survivors.
     Speaking from his Christchurch hospital bed Sunday, Small told
 NZPA he witnessed everything from his seat, in row 36, not row 13
 as suggested in earlier reports.
     He said he was not a hero and wonders why he got away with such
 little suffering compared with others. He also believes bending down
 to put on his shoes before the expected landing may have saved his
 life. By curling over, he was shielded from the initial impact.
     "It was a little firm and I thought the starboard right-hand
 undercarriage had hit the runway. I thought oh gee, the pilot's
 going to have to shout a round (buy drinks) for the crew for landing
 a bit heavy today.
     "It kept on rolling, nothing dramatic. Then it went down on the
 other side and it started to get rougher and I thought oh jeepers,
 we have gone off the air strip."
     At that stage he thought the jumbo had made a botched landing,
 which sometimes happens.
     But ill-fated Flight 801 was nowhere near Guam airport. The
 jumbo jet had plunged into a bush-clad hillside, thousands of yards
 short of its destination.
     "The fuselage started to peel open in front of my eyes. It was
 like a big tin can opening up. I couldn't really believe it ... It
 was shaking really violently as we crashed.
     "It was bumping about and all the overhead lockers opened up and
 stuff was falling out. There were sparks from the consoles and with
 the duty free alcohol and the oxygen, it started a series of instan-
 taneous fires all along the middle row of the aircraft.
     "It wasn't fire from the petrol of the plane. It wasn't fire
 from the fuel tanks.
     "I'm going to have to say a few words about oxygen in the air-
 craft, because I think that was the catalyst for the fire accelerat-
 ing so rapidly.
     "All that alcohol and stuff was falling down on the passengers
 and a big ball of flame went right up the center of the aircraft."
     Small said he was sure the initial fire started from a mixture
 of the oxygen and alcohol, not from the jet's fuel.
     "It wasn't burning, it was almost an explosion. I have seen
 kerosene and fuel and oil burn, but this was real lethal -- this
 was like rocket fuel. I can't think of a more potent combination
 than duty free alcohol and oxygen -- all in the same locker."
     In darkness, Small crawled about 60 yards from the plane and
 waited for help.
     One of the first rescuers on the scene was the governor of Guam,
 Carl Gutierrez. He headed to Small because he heard him shout in
 English and understood him immediately.
     Small knows he was lucky to survive while hundreds of other
 passengers were burned to death in the inferno or died in the crash.
     He says he is now looking at life differently, having worked on
 tuna boats for the last 10 years -- six months on, six months off.
 Now he would like to get a little normality back into his life and
 try to have a steady relationship.
     "If this shake-up doesn't give my life a turning point then
 nothing will."
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                     NTSB Chair on Smoke Alarms
     National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jim Hall says he's
 disappointed airlines have not yet begun to install smoke alarms and
 sprinklers in airplane cargo holds in the aftermath of the ValuJet
 crash last year. Preliminary reports have indicated the crash was
 caused by a fire in the cargo hold fueled by oxygen-generating can-
 isters. After the ValuJet crash, the FAA ordered airlines to install
 smoke alarm systems but gave them three years to do it, which Hall
 says was too long. "In light of the fact that this accident happened
 over a year ago, I think the industry is obligated to do this as
 quickly as possible," Hall said. The NTSB this week will finalize
 its report of the probable cause of the ValuJet crash in the Florida
 Everglades.
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