NTSB Chief: Crash Probably Accident

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.

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)

Understood, but it still doesn't jive with other *announcements* that keep popping out all over the place. An awful lot of differing and purely wrong information from NTSB spokespeople. The announcement that the cockpit recorder had no conversation relating to an emergency. The CO-PILOT was at the controls, but no words. The rear stabilizer bar was intact. First the engine was on fire...then the plane was on fire above the engine causing the wing to come lose, then the engine. The plane was in a nosedive, but the plane exploded in midair and the debri field is literally everywhere. The plane dumped fuel, but this particular plane did not dump fuel. The fuel came from the wing that landed in Jamaica Bay. The tail was in tact. First it was the engine which had 9700 hours on it that went bad. But it wasn't. It was the one with less than 300 hours. If the pilot was trying to control the situation, why was the co-pilot at the controls?
You get my drift, bootless. I know you fly. Do all the discrepencies sit right in your mind?

An airline pilot dumps fuel to lighten the aircraft. A lighter aircraft is easier to control and stays in the air longer. This isn't rocket science. I'm not an airline pilot, but a member of my family is. He says this accident (unless new evidence is revealed)is a classic engine failure or bird strike scenario.

When something breaks loose in one of those turbines, it can have a catastrophic result--metal parts go flying everywhere. It can result in the same effect as a bomb going off.

A few sea gulls sucked in to one of those turbines could have caused enough turbine blades to break off and explode the turbine itself, and the shrapnel probably sheared off other parts of the plane including the wing.

It wouldn't be the first or the last time that a few birds caused an aviation disaster. We think we have everything under control with our high tech inventions, but it's amazing how birds, rats, and other humble critters can wreak havoc on aviation, power plants, electrical grids, etc.

That might be a good reply, but this particular aircraft cannot dump fuel. There is no "fuel dump" on this aircraft. If fuel did go all over the boats below as described by witnesses, then it had to be a result of a fuel line loose, broken or pumps going into the engines. It was more likely hydralic fluid.

I noted the 2 black boxes were battered and BLACK. While reading a thread on this site re the BLACK BOXES from NYC on Sept 11..someone posted a link showing the NEW BLACK BOXES in use since 1991 or so... problem they were Bright Orange and Cylindical in shape...Anyone recall the link? Was the the orange box inside the black one shown in the photo above or are we being deceived?

The first box yesterday removed by FBI also was black, and they took it off in a small car like a Chevy Chevette, didnt look like a FBI car to me. Did anyone else notice this?? Anyone have the anwser to this?????????

I noted the 2 black boxes were battered and BLACK. While reading a thread on this site re the BLACK BOXES from NYC on Sept 11..someone posted a link showing the NEW BLACK BOXES in use since 1991 or so... problem they were Bright Orange and Cylindical in shape...Anyone recall the link? Was the the orange box inside the black one shown in the photo above or are we being deceived?

"Black boxes" ARE BRIGHT ORANGE. The ones pictured in this article are NOT orange. The car is a NYPD Police car, however. This is a strange thing. . .

If there were another terrorist attempt, and the plane were to be shot down, would the govt tell us that they shot it down, or would they just cover it by claiming engine /structure failure??

That's the question that EVERYONE on this thread would like to know the answer to.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.