Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Recovery of Victims at This Point is Almost Complete

Aired November 13, 2001 - 08:08   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Time, now, to bring you up to date on the other big story that we are following at this hour. The National Transportation Safety Board still says -- quote -- "All indications are that the crash of Flight 587 was an accident." It claimed 265 lives.

Jason Carroll joins us now from the crash scene in the Rockaways -- good morning, Jason. What's going on there this morning?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you, Paula.

I can tell you that the recovery of the victims, at this point, is almost complete. The focus is really on the investigation and the clean up of this neighborhood. And the landscape of this neighborhood, tragically, changed yesterday at about 9:17 a.m. That's when the American Airlines Airbus 300 disappeared from radar.

Witnesses say they heard some sort of a loud noise. One woman told me that it sounded like a sonic boom. In fact, she thought it was the Concorde taking off from JFK, which is located about five miles from here. They went outside, saw that there was a plane, it was on fire, it broke apart, and then it crashed into the neighborhood.

It was a fiery scene, as you know, thick back smoke was just about everywhere that you looked. Nearly a dozen homes were damaged during this crash; 265 bodies have been recovered; 260 people were on board. But we're being told that six people were reported missing here on the ground.

The NTSB has already recovered several portions of the plane in Jamaica Bay, located not too far from here, including a portion of the tail section. A team of about 100 investigators are looking into this crash, so they're going to be checking into different areas, including -- they'll be looking at the engine, they'll be looking at the electrical system. They'll also be out here interviewing witnesses. But as you say, at this point, all early indications seem to indicate that this was some sort of a tragic accident -- Paula.

ZAHN: Jason Carroll, thanks for that update.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.