New Clues Deepen Flight 587 Crash Mystery

Aviation Week (Aviation Now) ^ | 14-Nov-2001 12:56 AM U.S. EST | By Sean Broderick/AviationNow.com

[KQQL]

this is a sabatoge ... period.

[LikeLight]

Does the persistent use of the word "rattling" in the press accounts of this crash strike anyone else as odd . . . like it is being used as a euphemism for something else more sinister? Kind of like Clinton "groping" Kathleen Willey (somehow, by using this peculiar antiquated word, the press could make the whole event seem less offensive than "sexual assault", which would have been the normal description).

[terilyn]

I don't know where the plane had been immediately prior to JFK but here is some info from a FR thread from yesterday:

Miami International Airport Workers Being Questioned
News/Current Events
Source: Channel 10 News, WPLG
Published: 11/13/01
Posted on 11/13/01 9:35 PM Central by Freedom of Speech Wins

Miami International Airport Workers Being Questioned As for the crash investigation, Channel 10 News has learned that the FBI (news - web sites) is questioning workers at Miami International Airport.

The FBI is interviewing about 30 airport workers who came in contact with the plane, which came into Miami International Airport on Sunday.

Link to thread is here

[floriduh voter]

I heard it on several tv networks right after it happened and then nothing. Have you checked any Boston newspaper web sites? I swear they said it went from Boston, I don't know if it was immediately before as in that morning but prior to JFK.

However, at this time of day, the wake issue is in the forefront. The black box was sent to Florida because it was badly damaged and the manufacturer here was able to get a readout. Nothing yet but who knows? By tomorrow, maybe we'll know something.

[floriduh voter]

This is interesting. Nothing on the Gulf Coast about this. This is more credible than the early info that I heard on tv. I bet they get search warrants for those guys in Miami's cars and residences. I heard today that there are Pakistani guys in charge of a health dept. in a Pa town. They were picked up too. Have to see if anything is on FR re: this.

Also, the FBI seems to be working through their tip list for 9-11. In Central Fla alone, they had 7000 tips to go through. They have a running list. Jeb our governor is doing a great job. He was the first governor to order troops to guard all our ports. I mean lots of natl guard.

[Magician]

The fact that the tail came off of the plane first indicates a likelihood that it was the initiating event and that there is a problem with its attachments to the fuselage. There also was a defect in this area on this plane when it was being delivered that was corrected before delivery. It was delamination of a composite structure in the area.

[Beach_Babe]

Also, what do all the references to "I thought it was the Concord" mean?

It means that the sound was very, very loud!

When a normal jet goes over the Rockaways, it is loud. You can't hear the TV or radio and if you are talking on the phone, you have to suspend your conversation until it passes.

When the SST (the Concord) goes over it is extremely loud...ear piercing...it will wake you if you are sleeping (a normal jet doesn't) and it sets off all the car alarms. People in the streets or on the beach will stop whatever they are doing to watch the concord fly over...it is beautiful sight, looks like a giant bird in flight!

But I sure hated it when one would fly over my house at 8am on a Sunday morn...especially if I was out late on Saturday night!

[Magician]

Popping noises can occur from a compressor stall in an engine. Which occurs when the engine is going through the air at too great an angle relative to the direction of its travel and isn't scooping air efficiently.

In this accident, this may have occured as the aircraft went out of control.

[Magician]

If the cause of the accident was the tail coming off, the rattling could have been the vertical stabilizer and rudder fluttering as they were starting to come loose.

[Pharmboy]

Thanks for the info--you sound like an aeronautical engineer or pilot. If the popping was due to the engine angle, under what circumastances would that have occured first?

[tuesday afternoon]

Thanks. I figured someone from the area would know. One woman said "SST" and another said she thought it was the Concorde and ran outside to see.

Now, why was this particular plane so loud? Lower altitude than usual? I can't remember the timeline descriptions of the popping noise. Some described a noise like a sonic boom which doesn't sound like a popping.

[Magician]

Compresser stall occurs when the angle of attack of the engine relative to the airstream becomes too great for smooth flow of air into the engine.

In the case of AA587, loss of the vertical stabilizer would cause loss of control whose effects I can't anticipate precisely, but which would in effect result in the aircraft moving sideways, nose up or nose down relative to the airstream.

[I've been a private pilot for about 15 years]