aircrash/Printed version update

[Guest guest]

Monday November 12 10:38 AM ET

Plane Crashes Near Kennedy Airport

By DIEGO IBARGUEN, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - An American Airlines jetliner on its way to the Dominican

Republic crashed moments after takeoff Monday in a residential neighborhood

five miles from Kennedy Airport, authorities said. There was no immediate

word on deaths or injuries.

The city was put on high alert, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said. Fighter

jets were seen flying over the area.

Bill Schumann of the Federal Aviation Administration said there was

no immediate indication of what caused the crash, which came two months

after two hijacked airliners brought down the World Trade Center.

All metropolitan area airports - Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark, N.J.

- were closed after the crash, which took place in the Rockaway section

of Queens. All bridges and tunnels into the city were closed except to

emergency vehicles.

Flight 587, an Airbus A300 that can hold 275 people, went down shortly

after 9 a.m in the waterfront neighborhood 15 miles from Manhattan, setting

buildings on fire. A plume of thick, black smoke could be seen miles away.

There was no immediate word on the number of people aboard the plane.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said intelligence

agencies, the FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration 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.

``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 the current environment,'' the official

said.

Giuliani canceled his morning events and headed to the scene.

``Now we should focus all ourt efforts on finding survivors,'' the mayor

said. Asked what he thought when he heard about the crash, he said: ``Oh

my God, Oh my God, and I just passed a church where I attended 10 funerals.''

Triage centers were set up a high school and an elementary school, both

of which were closed for the Veterans Day holiday.

Planes were being diverted to other airports, and Delta Air Lines spokeswoman

Peggy Estes said the airline was working to account for all its planes.

The plane had been scheduled to leave at 8 a.m. and arrive in Santo

Domingo at 12:48 p.m.

One witness reported debris falling from sky and told the Fox News Channel

four homes were on fire.

``All of the sudden, I see an engine fall off, and it went to the side,

and in 10, 15 seconds it went down,'' witness Kevin O'Rourke told WABC-TV.

``An engine fell off.''

Witness Phyllis Paul heard the engine. ``It was very, very loud. Because

of what happened Sept. 11, it gave me a chill,'' she told CNN. ``It was

getting louder and louder and I looked out the window. I saw a piece of

metal falling from the sky.''

The World Trade Center 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.

Airbus said American Airlines has a fleet of 35 A300s.

 

 

Ann wrote:

 

News is just coming

through on our radio of an air crash in NY.I'm so

sorry for you all over there, all those memories coming back, yet more

people affectedThinking of youRegardsAnn

- Scotland

My Pictures of Aromatic Plants and Exotic Places In Turkey

http://members.home.net/chrisziggy1/triptoturkey.html