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CNN Live At Daybreak

In Crash of American Airlines Flight 587, Officials Looking into Whether Aerial Phenomenon Caused Crash

Aired November 15, 2001 - 08:36   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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to the investigation into the crash of American Airlines flight 587, federal aviation officials are looking into whether an aerial phenomenon, likened to a horizontal tornado, if you will, may have lead to the flight's tragic dive.

Here's CNN's Kathleen Koch with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The first up- close look at New York's newest ground zero.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What you have, is you have three homes, one, two, and three, and then a fourth. These three are demolished from the aircraft's impact.

KOCH: The impact was violent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now the nose of the aircraft, the forward section of the aircraft came down in this manner, in this area.

KOCH: Investigators think they're coming closer to a possible cause, focusing on why flight 587's tail fin fell off, landing in Jamaica Bay seconds before it crashed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: NTSB Investigators at the crash site say a look at the tail section, minus the fin, shows metal mounts and bolts that hold the fin were still attached to the plane's body, but the graphite composite material where the fin attached had been ripped apart. Investigators say repairs have been made to one of the mount fittings 13 years ago.

GEORGE BLACK, NTSB: The left center fitting was found to be delaminated. It was repaired by the manufacturer.

KOCH: The tail fin was discovered in almost new condition and showed no signs of being struck or broken off by another object. So American Airline mechanics are checking the tails of the 34 other Airbuses in its fleet.

Other possible causes? Turbulence from the wake of a larger Japanese Airline 747, that took off before flight 587. BLACK: The planes ended up at one point just 85 seconds apart. And investigators say a 12 mile-per-hour wind could have blown dangerous turbulence into the path of flight 587.

MARION BLAKEY, NTSB CHAIRWOMAN: I think what you see in this pattern up here is consistent with wake turbulence, that is accurate.

JIM MCKENNA, AVIATION ANALYST: Well, I don't believe that the NTSB investigators are looking at a wake turbulence encounter as the cause of this crash. More likely they are looking at that as a possible contributor, a triggering event.

KOCH (on camera): One factor increasingly ruled out as a potential cause is the engines. A more careful listen to the cockpit voice recorder shows that they were still running and attached to the plane when the crew reported they were losing control of the aircraft.

Kathleen Koch, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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