AA Flt 587: November 12, '01 (Veterans Day Observed)
Islamic calendar date:  Sha'ban 26, 1422  or 8/26/22

• American Airlines Flight 587 (Airbus A300-600), departed from Kennedy airport in New York at 9:14 AM EST and went down in Queens, NY (Rockaway) at 9:17 AM EST.  It was enroute to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.  The plane was scheduled to take off at 8:00 AM, but was delayed.
  • 255 people onboard (246 passengers and 9 crew) - no survivors
  • 5 killed who were on the ground
  • There were no reports of any problems onboard.  NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command)  received no distress calls from FAA.
  • 44 fire units and 198 firefighters were dispatched
  • Witnesses on the ground heard a "loud noise" while plane was still in the sky; engine and other parts fell off while it was still in the air.
  • It had around 300 million tons of fuel onboard.  (A similar 767 would weigh about 400 million tons, with most of the weight from fuel.)
  • All New York metro airports were shut down, then reopened within a few hours for incoming flights only.
  • The plane had regular engine checks on October 3rd and yesterday, 11/11.
  • Voice Data Recorder was recovered within a few hours after the crash.  Flight Data Recorder found Tuesday 11/13.
  • NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) is responsible for the investigation, at this point.  They ruled out any foreign objects (including birds) in engines.  Government says crash was caused by mechanical failure.
• Indications of sabotage
  • Voice Data Recorder: 2 air frame rattling noises lasting 2 minutes into flight, then noises stopped
  • Vernon Grose, former NTSB Investigator said on 11/13/01:
    • Feels TWA 800 crash, July '96, was not an accident and knows government coverup was involved
    • Finding the tail of Flt 587 in Jamaica Bay, so far away from the rest of the crash site made him feel this was not "normal"
    • Thinks NTSB should maintain cause of crash as "wide open" and not rule out act of terrorism
  • Mary Schiavo, former Transportation Department Inspector General said on 11/13/01:
    • Also felt that Flt 587 crash was more than simple mechanical failure after seeing the tail section recovered from the bay virtually undamaged.
    • The plane's breaking up in flight to the extent it did is virtually impossible.
    • The plane's loss of both engines at one time is virtually impossible, and would be unrelated to the tail breaking off, as the tail apparently was the first piece to break off
    • Losing the tail alone would be major structural failure, as the tail is not a moveable part, but is a part of the structure.
    • If the government truly believes what it says, that crash was caused by mechanical failure, then feels all of these type planes should be grounded immediately, because the massive structural failures would almost certainly have to be related to design.
    • Also troubled that now it is coming out that there was some sort of warning about something happening in November.  Feels terrorism is a possibility.
• The airline changed the flight number from 587 to 619 11/14/01.