High Graphics | BBC Sport>>
Front Page | World | UK | UK Politics | Business | Sci/Tech | Health | Education | Entertainment | Talking Point | AudioVideo | High Graphics | BBC SPORT>>
Front Page | World | UK | UK Politics | Business | Sci/Tech | Health | Education | Entertainment | Talking Point | AudioVideo |
World Contents: Africa | Americas | Asia-Pacific | Europe | Middle East | South Asia | From Our Own Correspondent | Letter From America |

BBC News Online: World


Tuesday, 16 October, 2001, 16:36 GMT 17:36 UK

New York passenger jet crash


New York City fire-fighters work at the scene of the crash of American Airlines flight 587
An American Airlines passenger jet crashes near John F Kennedy airport killing at least 260 people on board and several others on the ground. BBC News Online records audio and video coverage.


Crash day - 12 November


More trauma for NY City

Fire-fighters work at the scene of the American Airlines Flight 587 Flight 587 heads for the Dominican Republic when it loses an engine and nosedives into a suburb of Rockaway in Queens - a residential district that had already lost many in the attacks of 11 September. It happens just four minutes after take off.


 The BBC's James Robbins reports.


Sorrow in New York and Dominican Republic

A relation grieves at Santo Domingo's Las Americas International Airport

There are desperate scenes at the airport in the Dominican Republic among relatives who expect to greet loved ones off the plane. Dozens cram into a lounge in Santo Domingo's Las Americas International Airport while airline officials try to calm them.


 The BBC's Simon Montague reports


New York Mayor Giuliani

New York's mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, is quickly at the scene and expresses his sorrow for New York's residents at the centre of a second aviation tragedy in as many months. He says fighter planes are flying over the skies of the city and tunnels and bridges have been closed.


 New York Mayor Ruddy Giuliani


Crash cause theories



A flag flies over the wreckage of American Airlines flight 587

15 November: Investigators say turbulence caused by another plane may have brought down Flight 587. Flights are normally two minutes apart, but it is thought the A300 Airbus took off only one minute and 45 seconds after a Japan Airlines jumbo jet.


 The BBC's Nick Higham reports



Rescue workers sift through the wreckage

14 November: The cockpit voice recorder shows there were problems less than two minutes after take-off from Kennedy airport. It reveals the pilots heard a rattling sound just before the crash. The FBI say they are not ruling anything out, but they believe it was an accident.


 The BBC's Emma Simpson reports



An American Airlines employee looks through the remains of one of the engines

13 November: Air accident investigators listen to the final conversations from the cockpit of the plane. They say there appeared to be no unidentified voices on the tape - and they heard nothing to indicate a terrorist attack. There is now a real hunger for answers in Queens.


 The BBC's James Robbins reports



A dozen Rockaway homes were consumed by flames following the crash

13 November: Early investigations suggest the New York jet crash was mechanical failure, as emergency workers recover bodies from the wreckage.


 The BBC's David Willis reports





Part of the crashed aircraft

12 November: America's Transportation Safety Board says all information suggests the crash was an accident, but its investigators are in contact with the FBI. Flight 587's take-off had been delayed for an hour for maintenance checks.


 The BBC's Fergus Walsh examines the safety record of the Airbus 300


White House spokesman Ari Fleisher

12 November: White House spokesman Ari Fleischer says the plane's pilots gave no unusual communications before the crash, neither had authorities received any credible threats. He urges caution in speculating what may have caused it.


 White House news conference



High Graphics | BBC Sport>>
Front Page | World | UK | UK Politics | Business | Sci/Tech | Health | Education | Entertainment | Talking Point | AudioVideo | High Graphics | BBC SPORT>>
Front Page | World | UK | UK Politics | Business | Sci/Tech | Health | Education | Entertainment | Talking Point | AudioVideo |
World Contents: Africa | Americas | Asia-Pacific | Europe | Middle East | South Asia | From Our Own Correspondent | Letter From America |

Back to top | BBC News Home | BBC Homepage | ©