A source close to the investigation told us that within the first 24 hours of the crash, over 500 telephone communications were made between American officials at Gander and the U.S. State Department, Justice Department and Pentagon. All of these may well have been in the process of standard procedure. However, no recordings or records of these transmissions were ever made or kept.

When the Canadian Aviation safety Board made a request to obtain the records of these conversations they were told by U.S. officials that none were available because none were ever kept. A report on the general nature of the conversations was also denied. The Board felt that these official records were vital to the investigation. However, the Chairman never persisted. All of these were excluded from the investigation. Here too, may have lied another key to unravelllng any suspicions about a cover-up. (Source withheld to protect the identity of the person involved.)