New York | Wednesday
AVIATION authorities said an initial analysis of the cockpit voice recorder from the American Airlines crash here showed the pilots knew they were in trouble within two minutes of takeoff.
”There are several comments suggesting loss of control of the aircraft” two minutes and two seconds after Flight 587 began rolling down the runway at John F. Kennedy international airport on Monday, National Transportation Safety Board official George Black told reporters.
Black said a second ”quick look” at data from the voice recorder recovered from the crash detected ”airframe rattling noises” a few seconds apart, and that at 114 seconds ”the captain makes a comment about wake encounter” — referring to turbulence that may be caused by the wake of the last plane to take off from the same runway, a Japan Air Lines Boeing 747.
The NTSB also announced the discovery of the plane’s flight data recorder, thought to contain crucial clues to the cause of the crash.
The final death toll of the crash is expected to be 265 – all 260 people aboard the plane and five on the ground in the Belle Harbor area of Queens.
Most indications suggested that the crash was an accident as the grim task of recovering bodies neared a conclusion Tuesday.
”I was able to tell the family members who we just met with that we have recovered almost all of the remains now and the process of identification is beginning,” Blakey said.
The airliner was heading for Santo Domingo and most of the passengers were from the Dominican Republic. – Sapa-AFP