Airbus Site Investigations Completed.
	Crash Site Investigation    Source NTSB

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have now
completed their investigations at the New York crash site of the
American Airlines Airbus 300.

Investigations showed that flight 587 crashed 103 seconds after
it had lifted off from the runway. The plane having taken off approx
105 seconds after a Japan Airlines Boeing 747.

This was close enough for the Airbus to experience two wake
vortices from the Jumbo. Both wake encounters averaged about
0.1G lateral (side to side) movement. The plane then experienced
further rudder movements, the cause of which is yet unknown.

The planes composite tail assembly sheared off in flight. The rudder
and tail fin were found first in the wreckage path, followed by the
engines and then the main wreckage

Earlier reports of a possible engine failure appear to be unfounded
as no evidence of an uncontained engine failure, loss of blades, bird
strike or in-flight fire was found.

In 1994, several dozen passengers were injured when the same
aircraft experienced a turbulence incident near San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Inspections at the time showed no damage to the tail structure.

In 1999, a different American Airlines Airbus 300-600 experienced
multiple rudder deflections while on final approach to Miami, Florida.
The airplane landed without incident. Checks showed the autopilot's
wiring had been cross-connected by airline maintenance personnel in
Tulsa, Oklahoma. After checks, one other aircraft was found to have a
similar cross-connection.

So far, the Safety Board has found nothing in the wreckage or the
flight recorder information to indicate that the crash of flight 587 was
anything other than an aviation accident.

Examinations of the tail sections of other Airbus 300's around the
world have so far found no defects.

Investigations into the crash are expected to continue for over a year.

The Website of the Aviation Week magazine has more detailed
coverage of these latest findings.

A300 Inspections Loom Following JFK Crash
AviationNow.com  20 Nov

Relevant Articles:

New York jet crash investigation now looking at the broken tail section
NDTCabin  14 Nov

New York jet crash engine has a history of failures.
NDTCabin  14 Nov

Images courtesy of NTSB