UPDATE:American Airlines aircraft crashes in New York

Airline Industry Information, Nov 12, 2001

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

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An American Airlines aircraft has crashed in a residential area of New York, USA.

The aircraft, an Airbus A300, is reported to have suffered engine failure shortly after taking off from New York's JFK airport. Flight 587 was en route to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and was carrying 246 passengers and nine crew members. It crashed at about 0915 local time this morning (12 November).

The US Federal Aviation Administration has said that there is no evidence of terrorist involvement but an official pointed out that "it certainly can't be ruled out in the current environment."

Eyewitnesses have reported seeing one of the A300's engines fall off, while others said they heard an explosion. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has confirmed that there was an explosion on board the aircraft before it crashed, and officers are investigating whether this was the result of a mechanical failure or sabotage.

The engine that fell from the aircraft reportedly landed in the Rockaway section of Queens, New York, several blocks from where the aircraft itself came down.

Following the crash, all three New York-area airports - JFK, LaGuardia and Newark - were closed and bridges and tunnels into the city were also closed, except to emergency vehicles.

International flights en route to New York were diverted to other cities including Boston, Cincinnati and Washington's Dulles airport. A spokeswoman for London-Heathrow Airport in the UK said there was likely to be serious disruption to transatlantic flights.

News of the crash caused airline stocks around the world to plummet.

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