Posted on 11/16/2001 1:24:12 PM PST by callisto
A videotape that could show exactly what happened to American Airlines Flight 587, which crashed three minutes after taking off from New York's JFK airport on Monday, is in the hands of the FBI -- but the bureau has thus far declined to release it.
New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Tom Kelly confirmed to the Daily News Friday that the agency has given surveillance videotapes from Cross Bay Blvd. and Marine Parkway bridges to the FBI.
"One tape captures the plane taking off from JFK," the News said.
Cross Bay Blvd. and Marine Parkway traverse Jamaica Bay, where the plane's vertical stabilizer was discovered intact after the crash.
Dozens of eyewitnesses have told media outlets they saw an explosion and/or a fire at the juncture of Flt. 587's wing and fusilage moments before it began to break up, losing its tail first, then both its engines.
Catastrophic engine failure, which was first suspected to have caused the explosion, was ruled out Tuesday after NTSB investigators examined the engines and found no evidence of mechanical failure.
Since discovering the engines were working properly, NTSB spokeswoman Marion Blakely -- along with most media outlets -- have quietly dropped references to witness accounts of a midair explosion.
The NTSB now says that wind turbulence from another plane is the most likely cause of the crash. One former jumbo jet veteran pilot was highly skeptical of the turbulence theory.
"If wind turbulence caused that accident, I'll never fly again," Barry Schiff, who flew 747's for TWA, told the New York Post.
But a videotape showing the exact sequence of Flt. 587's break-up could clear up any mystery, showing whether or not the break-up was caused by an explosion or by turbulence.
It's not clear why the FBI has not yet released the MTA video -- or even commented on what it shows. It's also not clear why the Flt. 587 video was not turned over to the NTSB instead of the FBI, which had reportedly adopted a secondary role in the wake of NTSB claims that the crash was an accident.
When an Air France Concorde jetliner crashed after catching fire on takeoff from a rural French airport last year, an amatuer video of the accident was released within 48 hours.
Calls to the FBI's New York office and to MTA spokesman Kelly were not returned by presstime.
The tape, viewed by the Daily News, shows a white outline of the jetliner against a clear sky in a fairly steep decline. Seconds later, the outline disappears and the video shows a blurry, white, undefined patch as the plane apparently breaks apart. Finally, dark plumes of smoke billow up from behind what appears to be a toll-facility building in the foreground.
[laughs]
Thanks for sharing.
YOUR response is important to ME.
I will route your comment to the appropriate fragment of my s h a t t e r e d personality.
Mark W.
If there is a repeat of the Flight 587 disaster in the near future and the NTSB is still talking about wake turbulence, the credibility of the NTSB will forever be lost. I hope the NTSB fully understands what is at stake here. Failures in integrity in this investigation may require a revisit to the TWA 800 investigation.
It is a bit ironic that 9-11 required a revisit to the Iraq connection to the OKC bombing by Mr. Wolfowitz and others and any mishandling of this investigation may require another look at TWA 800.
Hope this helps.
Are you saying they didn't see the video? Making it all up? Ooooo, now you've got your OWN "conspiracy theory" going! But of course, none of your "conspiracy theories" are unfounded and "paranoid," are they? Mercy, no! P.S. Sounds from your post like you've personally inspected the "conditions of the aircraft remains at the crash site." We all know YOU wouldn't make a thing like that up, old-timer.
Hey, friend, I hear ya. I'm a City and Nassau County boy myself originally. Like Bill O'Reilly and you, a bunch of people from my old LI hometown were killed in WTC, including one of my old highschool and college mates.
Even out here in LA LA Land, I remember talking to a guy from LI after TWA 800, from East Moriches in fact, who was confounded by the way the government was simply ignoring eyewitness accounts of literally dozens of people.
And yet look at all the arrogant, know-it-all shills who keep scolding anyone who dares raise questions about the 587 crash and investigation as "conspiracy kooks," paranoid, mentally ill. Well, guess what, you pompous asses: We're not going to shut up until we get some real answers, and if GW is what he and people here billed him to be, his Administration ought to give us the straight dope, without fear of the consequences. We can handle the goddam truth.
No, but I did see the remains of A/C is a very high quaity, broadcast TV shot, both the editied for air version and the raw fed to the affiliates.
Next stupid question?
So what? Just like being on the site and looking at the craft up close, hunh? Yeah, right. Does that put you in the same category as the eyewitnesses to the disaster whose accounts you summarily and contemptuously dismiss, or does it make you maybe a little LESS credible than they, hmmmm?
Just stick to your abusive posts about "old ladies" and "crazy people," pal: you've lost all credibility with me. When it comes to discussing the FACTS about Flt. 587, I'll turn to others less obviously biased and prone to prevarication.
Engines are attached to wing. Wings remained attached to A/C. It's as simple as that. Wing could have not seperated from A/C and left engines behind.
Rather than feeding your ego, study a little aeronautics, engineering, whirl mode loads and the like before you try to comment on something way beyond your knowledge.
And rather than come up with a straw man argument to cover your prevarication, go back and look at what you posted. You accused the Daily News reporters of lying or misreporting about what they observed on the surveillance video of the Flt. 587 disaster. You implied that you had examined the wreckage at the site, then came up with a howler that you had observed "broadcast quality direct feed to affiliates" of TV shots of the wreckage (shot over hours no doubt--and from every possible angle, right?) Now you're backpedaling like crazy, simply repeating the government postulated failure sequence. And you accuse me of wanting to "feed my ego"?
Say goodnight, Jack, before you make yourself any more ridiculous. Tell the people at the NTSB that you're not giving them their money's worth and that it's time for you to retire.
Happy Thanksgiving.
You might start by buying yourself a dictionary to help with your spelling. You should be more careful when you start insulting others.
How about this; EAT ME! Spelling on one that?
(I'm not cursing at honawy. I'm simply exercising my Constitutional right to repeat and comment upon critical visual elements from the closing sequence of the esteemed motion picture; "Animal House" If it's good enough for Aninal House, it's good enough for me.......)
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