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Posted on 11/12/2001 11:30:52 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Monday November 12 2:24 PM ET
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By RON FOURNIER, AP White House Correspondent
WASHINGTON (AP) - White House spokesman Ari Fleischer (news - web sites) said there were no unusual communications from the cockpit of an American Airlines plane that crashed Monday in New York. The head of the U.S. safety board said current information indicates the crash was an accident.
Fleischer said President Bush (news - web sites) was informed of the crash within minutes of its occurrence in a residential section of Queens, and that Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge hastened to the White House Situation Room to confer with other senior officials on a conference call.
At a White House briefing, Fleischer said the National Transportation Safety Board (news - web sites) had been named the lead investigative agency into the crash, in which an Airbus crashed shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Marion Blakey, chairwoman of the NTSB (news - web sites), said, ``All information we have currently is that this is an accident.''
The crash triggered moments of intense concern inside the administration, struggling to cope with the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks and the anthrax outbreak that followed a few weeks later.
But initial information seemed to allay concern that the American Airlines crash was another bout of terrorism. Several administration officials, including some at the White House, said that based on preliminary information the incident did not appear to be a terrorist attack.
Blakey said the flight data recorder had been recovered and would be analyzed by federal safety experts. Fleischer said there had been no credible threats against airplanes in advance of the crash.
The White House spokesman declined to rule terrorism in or out as a possible cause of the crash but said he would not dispute the assessment of U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, who said there was no preliminary evidence of terrorism.
The airlines have taken a financial beating since the suicide hijackings of Sept. 11, and officials have worked to rebuild public confidence in the industry. ``The president continues to believe that people need to travel,'' said Fleischer.
An administration source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said preliminary reports led the FBI (news - web sites) to believe there was an explosion aboard the plane, and was investigating whether it was an accident, mechanical failure or an act of sabotage. Fleischer said he could not confirm the report.
``There have been, according to eyewitnesses, information that an engine was seen being detached from the plane and that it landed separately from the main body of the airplane,'' he said.
With the nation on high alert, a result of the Sept. 11 attacks, Fleischer said Bush was in the Situation Room, convening a national security meeting, when he was handed a note shortly before 9:30 a.m. that a plane had gone down.
Bush spoke with New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (news - web sites) and Gov. George Pataki and ``expressed to both of them his deepest sympathy for the people of New York to be enduring any other trauma,'' Fleischer said.
The spokesman stepped to the microphones in the White House briefing room less than three hours after the plane crashed with 255 passengers and crew members aboard. Several eyewitnesses reported hearing explosions aboard the plane, and a piece of an engine came to rest outside a gas station in the Queens section of New York.
``There were no unusual communications with the cockpit,'' Fleischer said. He said investigators had not yet found the ``black box'' that records important in-flight information.
He also said Bush had dispatched federal investigators and search-and-rescue personnel to the scene.
New York area airports were closed in the wake of the crash, and federal officials briefly considered a nationwide shutdown. But Fleischer said officials did not intend to do that, and indicated the New York airports wouldn't be closed for long.
Bush postponed a scheduled interview with Russian and American reporters so he could monitor the investigation into the crash of Flight 587, which had just taken off from John F. Kennedy International Airport en route to the Dominican Republic. He meets Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites), opening three days of talks in Washington and Texas.
Intelligence agencies, the FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration (news - web sites) were reviewing all recent intelligence for any signs that terrorism was involved but an hour after the crash there was no evidence pointing to an attack, said a U.S. official speaking only on condition of anonymity.
``They are comparing information to see if it provides any insight into what transpired. At this point, there's no indication of a terrorist attack, but it certainly can't be ruled out in current environment,'' the official said.
Earlier Stories
Official: Crash May Not Be Terror (November 12)
Bush Seeks NY Plane Crash Details (November 12)
Bush Seeks Details on NY Plane Crash (November 12)
White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer briefs reporters, Monday, Nov. 12, 2001, after an American Airlines jetliner, on its way to the Dominican Republic with 255 people aboard when it crashed moments after takeoff in New York City. Bush administration officials said the FBI believed there was an explosion aboard the plane, and was investigating whether it was the result of a mechanical failure or sabotage. (AP Photo/Doug Mills)
An FBI agent (L) holds one of the battered and dented "black box" flight recorders from American Airlines flight 587 in his lap as he removes it from the scene of the crash in a New York City police car November 12, 2001 in Queens, New York. An American Airlines Airbus A-300 passenger jet crashed while taking off from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. REUTERS/Jim Bourg
One of the battered and dented 'black box' flight recorders from American Airlines flight 587 lies on the ground beside a New York City police car as it is taken from the scene of the crash by an FBI agent November 12, 2001 in Queens, New York. Investigators quickly recovered the flight data recorder from the doomed jetliner and are transporting it to Washington for analysis. (Jim Bourg/Reuters)
Let me see if I have this right. Your e-mail buddy (who is not an eyewitness) is 75% sure it was a SAM, but NO EYEWITNESS reports seeing a SAM. Do you see a problem with this?You have it correct and, yes I do see a problem with that. That is why my post says also "I just have a hard time believing this is a deliberate act, but sure wanna know." Thanks.
Plane accidents do happen and depature and return are dangerous...absolutely. After planes dont just explode for no reason. Call me crazy but......Its them again.
At this point, I feel sure we're looking at terrorism. It doesn't surprise me that officials are reporting a likely accident. Reports of terrorism, unless very obvious, would do more harm than good just now. We shall see......
Actually, Government officials making premature preposterous statements like "it was probably an accident"when all evidence and common sense points to the opposite will do more to destroy what little trust was left in the Government.
How does makking people believe that they may not only die on American Airlines as a result of a terrorist attack, but they also have to worry about the engines falling off help that airline or any other?.
Something tells me that you have an agenda.
Do you work for the Government?
You need to look up the thread on the GE CF-6. Catastrophic engine failure can destroy the engine, the shroud, and blades can rip into the wings and fuselage. The CF-6 has been failing on an irregular basis for ten years.
"People hearing" don't mean anything when fuel explodes, no matter what the cause.
As walsh says, why would a terrorist blow up a plane destined for one of the poorest countries in the world?
Correct. Appreciate your attempts at sanity on this thread.
It seems as if many folks want the crash to be the result of a terrorist.
I don't have much trust in government either but this instant analysis and final conclusions based on limited information is pointless. Too many know-it-alls who don't know much but like to think they do. Yes siree, can't fool those folks. They KNOW.
I'll hold judgement until we see more information and if the government witholds too much information or gets all coy about responding to questions and showing proof of simple mechanical failure then I'll get on the 'terrorists did it' bandwagon. It's a little too early for that at this point.
Really where is that being reported..? Last time checked the only thing they could confirm was an explosion. Please send me a link.
If anybody is hysterical it is you, I'm LMAO at your posts!Me too, actually. He should audition for the Comedy Club? ;-)
From that, I take it you are predicting the FAA will be grounding all planes with the CF-6 real soon now. Correct?
That is a direct contradiction of Ari Fleischers press confrence when he was asked if there was any indication of trouble aboard the flight.
Here we go again, if the story doesn't fit the facts, change the story.
Does the word PREPOSTEROUS mean anything to you?
Personally, I'm with the folks who are hoping that the other guys did it.
And I also am aware than anything human-made is intrinsically imperfect and could fail at any time, but I'm hoping that's not the cause, either.
Sinkspur, WHY NO COMMUNICATION????? NONE? There are usually more than one person in the cockpit. Why, if the pilot could have been dumping fuel, which I've been told is unlikely according to the type of plane it was, wouldn't SOMEONE have radioed the tower? Think about it before you start insulting people who are rightly untrusting of government pronouncements, especially the NTSB, none of whom were on the scene until AFTER the fact and AFTER many eyewitnesses had already been heard from.
As a very long time pilot and engineer, the day's observations of pieces being recovered from Jamaica Bay show me that the plane was literally blown apart in the air, either by a bomb or a fuel explosion similar to TWA.Thanks, friend! I nominated yours for "Number one response on the Thread". Can I get a second on that nomination???At this point, I feel sure we're looking at terrorism. It doesn't surprise me that officials are reporting a likely accident. Reports of terrorism, unless very obvious, would do more harm than good just now. We shall see......
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