US senator calls for re-opened investigation into 2001 aircraft crash

Airline Industry Information, April 6, 2005

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

The investigation into the Airbus crash in New York in 2001 should be reopened, according to Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat.

On 12 November 2001 an Airbus A310, operated by American Airlines, crashed just after take-off from New York's John F Kennedy International Airport. According to the senator, new material suggests that it was weak material in the tail and not pilot error that was the cause of the fatal accident.

The report from the National Transportation Safety Board found that the tail had fallen off and in 2004 the Board decided that pilot error, caused by inadequate training and too sensitive rudder controls, was to blame, The Associated Press reported. The discussion over the accident was however renewed last week as a directive was issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding Airbus A310 and A300-600 aircraft. The FAA ordered US airlines to inspect the rudders of the aircraft, following an incident in which an Airbus A310 aircraft lost nearly all of the rudder in-flight.

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