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Posted on 11/12/2001 6:34:20 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Monday November 12 10:17 AM ET
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - An American Airlines passenger jet bound for Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republican crashed shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy Airport on Monday, officials said.
Federal Aviation Administration (news - web sites) spokesman William Shumann said American Airlines Flight 587 crashed five miles from the airport in a residential area of Rockaway, in the Queens borough of New York City.
He had no information on how many passengers were aboard the wide-body Airbus A-300 twin engine passenger, but said the A-300 plane could carry as many as 275 people, depending on its seating configuration. CNN reported the aircraft had 246 people aboard, including 9 crew members.
The crash came almost exactly two months after two hijacked passenger jets crashed into the World Trade Center in New York, but aviation officials said they had no information on the possible cause of Monday's crash.
Shumann said Kennedy Airport had closed after the crash, but he had no information on any additional measures taken to ground airplanes around the country, as was done after the Sept. 11 hijacking attacks on New York and Washington.
``We have no information as to the possible cause of the crash,'' Shumann told reporters.
He said no decisions had been made on grounding other planes or closing other airports. ``All options are open at this time. I'm not ruling out anything at this time, but we have made no decision,'' Shumann said.
Earlier Stories
Passenger Jet Crashes in Residential Area in New York (November 12)
Plane Crashes in New York Neighborhood (November 12)
Plane Crashes in New York Borough of Queens (November 12)
Passenger Jet Crashes in Queens, NY
Passenger Jet Crashes in Queens, NY
NEW YORK (AP) - An American Airlines flight that had just taken off for the Dominican Republic crashed Monday, and buildings reportedly were on fire in the Queens section of New York City.
Flight 587, an Airbus A300 that can hold 275 passengers, crashed shortly after 9 a.m. and thick, black smoke could be seen miles away. There was no report of the number of casualties, either on the plane or on the ground.
Thick, black smoke could be seen miles away from the crash in the Rockaways section of Queens.
The crash came two months after the attack on the World Trade Center, which was destroyed by two Boeing 767s hijacked out of Boston's Logan Airport. One of the planes was operated by American, the other by United.
Bill Schumann of the Federal Aviation Administration (news - web sites) said there was no immediate indication of what caused the crash. He said the plane crashed about five miles from Kennedy Airport.
All metro area airports - Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark - were closed following the crash, in Rockaway, Queens. The Office of Emergency Management said all bridges and tunnels in the city were closed except to emergency vehicles.
Planes were being diverted, and Delta Air Lines spokeswoman Peggy Estes said the airline was working to account for all its planes.
The mayor canceled his morning events and headed to the scene.
One eyewitness reported debris falling from sky, and told the Fox News Channel four homes were on fire.
Another told CNN he was 40 blocks away and saw ``just a lot of smoke. Tons and tons of smoke. You can see emergency vehicles heading to the area. Lots of people are standing in the streets. It's very tense.''
FBI makes this statement based on what?
Wishful thinking, or facts?
American Airlines flight 587 from New York City to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic crashed shortly after take-off from John F. Kennedy airport on November 12, 2001, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said. The wide-body Airbus A-300 twin engine passenger jet crashed five miles from the airport in a residential area of Rockaway, in the Queens borough of New York City, said FAA spokesman William Shumann. (Michael Sales/Reuters Graphic)
Pardon me, but I WILL ASSUME that this is the result of FOUL PLAY until PROVEN OTHERWISE.
(just a little joke)
The radio report did not give the reasoning or logic. I could only speculate. (Hmm? The Dow Jones is down 155 points). . .
RB:
"...WBAP Reports the FBI says this is likely NOT the result of Terrorism. "FBI makes this statement based on what?
Wishful thinking, or facts?
WC:
Going by the known facts, there is no evidence that this is a terrorist attack. There is also no evidence that this is an accident. There is no evidence of anything except that a fully loaded plane taking off on its way to Santo Domingo crashed into a populated area.
I WILL ASSUME that this is the result of FOUL PLAY until PROVEN OTHERWISE.
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