Posted on 12/06/2002 4:15:15 PM PST by Beach_Babe
From: victor@usread.com [mailto:victor@usread.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 05, 2002 4:33 PM
To: Ted Lopatkiewicz
Subject: Open Letter in Re Jamaica Bay Pictures & Other Debris
To Whom It May Concern At The NTSB:
U.S.Read and The Wave are requesting the following from the NTSB related to the debris field in Jamaica Bay, and debris found on land a distance from the crash site:
1. Make available all photographs and video NTSB may possess taken in Jamaica Bay on November 12th, 2001
2. The Public Information Division (DCPI) at the NYPD, has stated to U.S.Read that they will not release any photographs or videotape taken by the NYPD unless the NTSB explicitly gives the "o.k." to do so. Therefore, U.S.Read and The Wave request that the NTSB contact DCPI at the NYPD and grant that authorization. Phone number for Lieutenant Burke at DCPI will be provided below. NTSB should specifically request that pictures taken by any NYPD units, including but not limited to:
(a) The Crime Scene Unit (CSU) in Jamaica, NY
(b) The Harbor Unit at Floyd Bennett Field
(c) The 100th Precinct
... should be released to U.S.Read and The Wave.
The CSU has informed U.S.Read that such pictures are considered "crime scene evidence" and "are never released except under order by a Judge". U.S.Read informed CSU that the NTSB announced at the Flight 587 Hearings that criminal activity has been ruled out, but CSU needs to hear this from the NTSB. CSU's phone number will also be provided below.
3. NTSB has in their possession several pictures taken by Witness # 321 of debris in the Bay that he and his friends recovered and then turned over to either an NYPD or Coast Guard vessel. This witness' boat was just east of the flight path along with witnesses # 18 and #122. U.S.Read and The Wave request the release of all the pictures surrendered to you by Witness # 321.
4. Several, if not dozens, of pieces of debris from flight 587 landed up to 3/4 statute mile away from the crash site, on land. Aside from the engines and tail section, the NTSB has provided no pictures in the Structures reports of that debris. Your Structures Report mentions the "left wingtip" at 116th Street but there was no specific mention or pictures of the following, for example:
(a) two "panels" found on the roof of the Rockaway Sunset Diner at 116th Street and Beach Channel Drive. These pieces were at least 8 square feet each.
(b) Witness # 292 describes a 4 foot by 4 foot section picked up at 116th street
(c) the left winglet at 125th street and Cronston Ave.
(d) what appeared to be a crew member's or flight attendant's seat belt near the winglet at 125th street. I have the names of the two residents who picked it up and surrendered it to the authorities. The seat belt was slightly sooted and left some residue on their hands.
U.S.Read requests the release of pictures (with descriptions) of all debris recovered away from the crash site and that the NTSB produce a map of this debris field. Seasoned Air Crash Investigators are surprised to learn that such a map does not exist.
5. On July 10th, 2002, a Rockaway resident submitted to an NYPD detective charred pages from a book (in English text) entitled "Manual of Islamic Behavior", that were said to have been recovered at the crash site. The FBI recovered other pages from this book on the day of the crash. The resident who surrendered the pages from this book to the NYPD did so with the understanding that a copy would be made and returned to this resident. This was not done. The NYPD forwarded these pages to FBI Special Agent (name withheld) in Queens, NY. The NYPD stated to U.S.Read that this is "an ongoing criminal investigation". U.S.Read sees yet another instance where the NTSB should update the NYPD (and perhaps the FBI) that this is an ongoing "accident" investigation. This might encourage the FBI to release the pages from the book back to the resident, or, if the FBI has connected these pages to a specific passenger on board 587, then perhaps the Family Affairs Office at the NTSB should ensure that the family of the passenger will be given this and any other personal effects the FBI may be withholding. Either way, there seems to be no legal basis (since there is no criminal investigation) for the FBI to continue holding this debris that either belongs to the resident who found it or to the family of the passenger.
The requests for Jamaica Bay pictures have been initiated due to corroborated eyewitness statements in the NTSB's Flight 587 docket, and in followup interviews with those witnesses by U.S.Read, that:
(a) luggage and escape chute(s) were seen falling out of the sky along with flight 587 and ...
(b) luggage and possibly one escape chute/raft were seen floating in Jamaica Bay immediately after the crash.
NTSB's current position, as you informed U.S.Read, is that no such debris fell into the Bay, or away from the main crash site.
Contacts:
1. DCPI @ NYPD - 646-610-xxxx, ext 8792
2. Crime Scene Unit - 718-558-xxxx and xxxx
Thank you
Victor Trombettas
victor@usread.com
U.S.Read / The Wave
From: Lopatkiewicz Ted
Date: Fri, 6 Dec 2002 09:40:24 –0500
To: "'victor@usread.com'" victor@usread.com
Cc: FOIA foia@ntsb.gov
Subject: RE: Open Letter in Re Jamaica Bay Pictures & Other Debris
We have no wish or intention to interject ourselves into the document release procedures of other agencies.
As to the records in our possession, I am forwarding your request to our Freedom of Information Office, which is the proper entity to handle these matters.
From: Lopatkiewicz Ted lopatt@ntsb.gov
Date: Fri, 6 Dec 2002 09:42:43 –0500
To: "'victor@usread.com'" victor@usread.com
Subject: RE: Open Letter in Re Jamaica Bay Pictures & Other Debris
Also, Victor, don't put words in our mouth. We said we had no information that such items as you asked about were recovered from the bay.
From: victor@usread.com [mailto:victor@usread.com]
Sent: Friday, December 06, 2002 10:46 AM
To: Lopatkiewicz Ted
Subject: Re: Open Letter in Re Jamaica Bay Pictures & Other Debris
Please don't change your wording and then accuse me of doing that.
I didn't ask if you had information. I asked simply if such debris was recovered. And your one word response was "negative". Now ... if you wish to clarify your statement, that's fine.
But saying you "have no information" is not accurate because you *did* have that information ... provided to you by witnesses the week of the crash. The real questions here of course are ... what happened to this debris? Did it all sink? Was it recovered by NYPD or Coast Guard and ... somehow ... the NTSB never got wind of it?
…and if this debris was there, how did it get there? What events on board 587 precipitated such a catastrophic and sudden fuselage breakup?
I spoke with Witness 117 last night, Ed, and spoke to his co-worker Andre--they were looking east from their truck at Floyd Bennett Field and saw a large square sized object, that looked to them like a luggage container, fall from 587 (from an area behind the wings in the belly of the craft) around the same time the tail blew off. They were both adamant this was not the tail or tail debris. This large object did not flutter down like the tail debris. It just fell straight down quickly into the Bay quite a distance from the seawall.
Subj: Re: Open Letter in Re Jamaica Bay Pictures & Other Debris
Date: 12/6/02 10:51:58 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: victor@usread.com
To: lopatt@ntsb.gov
thank you
I will forward your reply to the NYPD and inform them that the decision is theirs to make and the NTSB has no objection to their release of 587-related documents.
Victor
From: Lopatkiewicz Ted lopatt@ntsb.gov
Date: Fri, 6 Dec 2002 10:55:49 –0500
To: "'victor@usread.com'" victor@usread.com
Subject: RE: Open Letter in Re Jamaica Bay Pictures & Other Debris
What I'm saying is that us saying it wasn't recovered is not the same as saying it didn't fall into the bay. Right?
Subj: Re: Open Letter in Re Jamaica Bay Pictures & Other Debris
Date: 12/6/02 11:36:33 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: victor@usread.com
To: lopatt@ntsb.gov
Oh please Ted
I didn't know we would have to dissect our words like this. But I have to remember, you work in D.C. The Word Dissection Capital.
Let's dissect: I said on Dec 4th : "While I have your attention ... was any of the following debris in the Bay?
a. Luggage or packages or any personal effects including papers and books.
b. any section of the fuselage
c. escape slide/raft"
OK? I said: "in the Bay".
You said "negative". You said two days ago what today you claim you didn't say.
Actually Ted, the real issue here is not this play on words. If I had lost a loved one on 587, I'd want to know that every stone was turned over, that the Bay was thoroughly and completely scanned ... every piece of crap pulled up from the Bay around the flight path of 587. I know for a fact the NYPD Harbor Unit didn't do this. I informed you of this several months ago. The NYPD was willing to go back out and re-scan the Bay. Instead, the door was slammed shut. Therefore, officially, no one did a complete scan of the Bay. At least not that the Public knows of.
Just now ... I got off the phone with witness #321, a Supervisor with the Dept of Sanitation in NYC who was in a boat in Jamaica Bay only a mile or so east of 587. He saw a parachute-like (undeployed) object descend from 587. Mind you ... most people have never seen an evacuation chute as in the attached (I'm only speculating that's what he saw, in some degree of deployment ... but let's assume for a moment). He said to me it was long and white .. he said it looked like a condom. A condom ... now how does a witness mistake pieces of the rudder, tail, engine, left wingtip, for a long white parachute or condom unless he's tripping on some really bad drugs? He's not the only witness to describe parachute or chute or raft-type objects or luggage falling from the sky and then floating in the Bay.
The FBI also received this information from some witnesses and didn't write it up.
Does even the remotest possibility that this was indeed debris from the interior of 587 in any way change the nature of this investigation. That's what inquiring minds want to know.
Victor
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