flight587

Predicted:

American Airlines Flight 587 crashes in NYC

November 12, 2001 Posted: 7:30 p.m. EST (0030 GMT)

SUMMARY:

An American Airlines flight with 260

people aboard crashed into a New York

neighborhood three minutes into its flight

Monday morning. Flight 587 took off at

9:14 a.m. Monday and within minutes was

in flames in Queens, one of New York's

five boroughs.

UPDATE:

The plane was en route to Santo Domingo,

Dominican Republic. American Airlines

said the plane was carrying 251

passengers and nine crew members.

National Transportation Safety Board

investigators have recovered the plane's

cockpit voice recorder.

White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer

said there had been no unusual communications with the cockpit. Asked if there

were any indications of terrorism, Fleischer said, "We have not ruled anything in;

we have not ruled anything out."

Fleischer said President Bush had spoken with New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and

Gov. George Pataki and told them the federal government would do everything it

could to help.

Giuliani said there were two crash sites -- one where the plane landed and another

where an engine landed. Both were about six blocks from a school building. The

school was closed for the Veterans Day holiday.

The neighborhood where the crash occurred was the

home of many World Trade Center employees and

firefighters who died in the attacks of September 11,

said Giuliani.

Relatives and friends in Santo Domingo waiting for

the arrival of the flight at the airport sobbed and

grasped each other after hearing about the crash.

KEY QUESTIONS:

What caused the crash?

How will the crash affect the airline industry?

What will the impact be on the psyche of New

Yorkers who are still recovering from the terrorist

attacks of September 11?

What is the extent of the injuries of those on the

ground?