Posted on 11/16/2001 1:21:47 PM PST by The Magical Mischief Tour
By Patrick Markey
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A JetBlue Airways pilot waiting for take-off at John F. Kennedy International Airport saw the American Airlines flight that crashed on Monday as it fell from the sky accompanied by smoke and a smaller piece of the aircraft, according to an internal report.
The pilot told the JetBlue officials that in its final moments American Airlines Flight 587 appeared to be in a very steep descent, falling nose down at about 80 degrees in a spiral dive.
Before it exploded on impact, the aircraft was accompanied by the smaller piece above and to the right or southwest of the smoke trailing behind the main body, according to the internal JetBlue report provided to Reuters.
The investigation into Monday's crash has become centered on the Airbus A300's tail fin and rudder that separated from the plane before it crashed killing up to 265 people, including casualties on the ground.
Investigators recovered the tail fin of the aircraft from Jamaica Bay.
Preliminary flight data released on Thursday showed the aircraft, operated by AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, was buffeted twice by turbulence in its final moments before beginning a sharp downward turn to the left.
Safety investigators said the turn occurred even as the pilots' controls were set to the right, suggesting the plane was no longer responding to pilot commands.
Investigators are still examining and comparing information from the aircraft's black box and its flight data recorder to piece together a clearer picture of what happened.
Sadly, this gives new meaning to a pound of flesh.
Well, accidents can be expected to continue to happen while the RADICAL ISLAMIC WORLD is at war with the United States.
.............see www.debka.com for a report that BIN LADEN'S thugs are gearing up around the world for a terror campaign during the holey month of bombydon.
What a great phrase! I LOVE it!!!
The airlines simply have too much to lose; uncle sam already gave 15 billion and wants to tighten the purse strings. Not to mention the public fear factor.
Sorry but you lost credibility once you mentioned Debka. Debka ????Puuuulease.
..........of course, the enemies of Israel seem to not appreciate the presence of the mossad's media outlet for some unknown reason.
1. He won't bid the Airbus. Says the French computer will override the Captain in extreme situations and will not allow you to fly out of extreme danger situations.
2. The pin that holds the rudder on is made of a plastic composite. It was done instead of aluminum because it is lighter weight and just as strong. However, Captain says, the failure of such material is poorly understood. It can degenerate from UV light, hence it can only be painted white. It can go fine for five years or so and then suddenly go from 99% strength to 20% without warning.
3. Most American Airline airbus planes are flying from NY to the Islands because they can haul large cargo packages and are money makers on those routes even without passenger loads. They aren't flying many on any other routes.
4. The planes that were recently retired from AA fleet due to cutting routes were Boeing planes that were scheduled for retirement in the next couple years anyway, but could be brought back to replace airbus planes if AA grounds the airbus fleet.
5. He conjectures that the rudder started to come loose from failure of the Von epoxy (whatever I can't remember) material of the pin, and it was the rudder flapping that causes the airframe shudder, not wake turbulence. The torque of the flapping rudder caused the plane to veer back and forth to the point that the engines came loose and one maybe took a wing with it.
When the Captain tried to make the drastic maneuvers necessary to regain a semblance of control, the French computer overrode him.
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