Wednesday, November 14, 2001

NTSB investigators find second black box from NYC plane crash
By Tom Hays
Associated Press

NEW YORK — Investigators found the flight data recorder Tuesday that could yield clues about the final seconds of the American Airlines crash that killed more than 260 people.

The data recorder was one of the two “black boxes” aboard Flight 587. The other, the cockpit voice recorder, was found shortly after Monday’s crash.

Todd Maisel/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS NEW YORK — Rescuers continue to search for bodies as officials investigate the scene of the crash of American Airlines Flight 587, Tuesday. The plane, bound for the Dominican Republic, crashed Monday in a neighborhood in Queens, N. Y.

The flight data recorder tracks the speed and actions of the engine and instruments.

Authorities said the voice recorder didn’t indicate any problems aboard the flight that crashed less than three minutes after leaving nearby Kennedy Airport.

“The communications from the cockpit were normal up until the last few seconds before the crash,” said Marion Blakey, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board. She did not elaborate on the last few moments.

But authorities did not rule out sabotage or other potential causes.

“We’re not going to exclude that possibility until the investigation goes much further than this,” George Black, a member of the NTSB, said Tuesday on NBC’s “Today” show.

A source close to the investigation said the board also was looking at whether the engines failed after sucking in birds. Kennedy Airport, running along Jamaica Bay, has had problems with birds on the runway.

All 260 people aboard the European-made Airbus A300 were killed, the airline said. Five other people were reported missing on the ground, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said.

Relatives of the victims gathered in hopes of recovering their loved ones’ remains.

“I still don’t know if they found her,” said Guillermina Roy, 18, whose mother was among those missing in the crash. “I hope I can find out some information.”

Roy, wiping away tears, was one of about two dozen people huddled on a chilly morning outside a family-assistance center at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan.

Digna Roy, 44, was a resident of Santo Domingo, and had come to New York last week to visit an eye doctor, her daughter said.

The mayor said Tuesday that 262 bodies had been recovered along with 180 parts of bodies. According to police, the bodies included a man found holding a baby. The recovery effort continued through the night under the glare of klieg lights.

The crash happened just two months after two hijacked planes — one an American Airlines jet — leveled the World Trade Center 15 miles away, leaving more than 4,000 people missing or dead.

The crash initially renewed terrorism fears. The Empire State Building was evacuated, and bridges, tunnels and all three of the New York area’s major airports were closed for a time.

“The assumption the police had to make and I had to make was that there was going to be another attack, and so we had to close down parts of the city,” Giuliani said on “Today.”

Giuliani said he spoke to President Bush from the scene.

“He said, ‘New York City is really being tested. It’s a shame.’ I said, ‘Mr. President, New York City is up to the test.’ ”

Witnesses in the Rockaway Beach section of Queens reported hearing an explosion and seeing an engine, a large chunk of a wing and other debris falling from the sky as the plane came down.

“I thought we were being bombed, because I didn’t see the plane,” said Janet Barasso, in her home a block from where the plane crashed. “I looked out the window and saw a big ball of flame and smoke.”

But if there was an explosion on the plane — and many witnesses heard one — it was probably caused by a mechanical failure, investigators said.

There have been documented failures involving the family of CF6 General Electric engines on the plane, though none involved fatalities.

The Federal Aviation Administration warned just last month that its own study of problems with these engines indicates a need for tougher, mandatory inspections of possibly worn parts.

The NTSB warned separately less than a year ago that an in-flight failure of these engines could send hot metal fragments tearing through important control systems or fuel lines — and could cause a plane to crash.

The NTSB’s Black cautioned it was “way too early” to connect the crash with other failures involving the type of engine that powered the airplane. But he added: “We will be looking at that.”

He said that the quality of the voice recorder was good, and that the co-pilot was at the controls, which was not unusual.

The plane’s vertical stabilizer — the tailfin — was found floating in Jamaica Bay, just offshore. Visible on the wreckage were the American Airlines logo and an American flag.

One smoking engine was found intact in a parking lot at a Texaco station two blocks from the crash site, where it had missed the gas pumps by no more than 6 feet. Part of the second engine was found another block away, in a back yard.

Eleven houses were destroyed or seriously damaged. In some cases, the siding was melted off the homes. Dozens of people were hospitalized after responding to the inferno.

“The whole house started to shake,” said Mark Shorr, whose house was severely damaged. “I looked out the door and all I saw was the color of pumpkin, this dark orange.”