A BuzzFlash Editorial Commentary
November 13, 2001
WHAT HAPPENED TO FLIGHT 587?
Shortly after Flight 587 broke up in mid-air, CNN reported that a senior government official had said that an explosion was a likely cause. That was before the spin started – and the comment disappeared from CNN.
BuzzFlash hopes that the disintegration of Flight 587 was not a terrorist act, but the Bush Administration efforts to disseminate other, far more unlikely causes, however, is only hurting the airlines industry in the long run:
-- The Wall Street Journal and other news sources were told that a flock of birds might have caused the engine failure, only to have the FAA later announce that there were no indications that this happened.
-- The press was told that an engine fell off and might have caused the crash, only to be told later that this would not explain the rear vertical stabilizer flying off of the plane. Nor would it explain why the second engine fell off also.
-- The press was told that air turbulence from a Japan Airlines plane might have caused the destruction of Flight 587. A CNN article, however, notes: "Black also said investigators will be looking into whether the turbulence caused the tail section to rip off of the plane. If so, that could be a catastrophe that's never been seen before in aviation history." A CBS news report notes: "Veteran crash experts say it would likely take a "sizable" explosion to sever the tail." (http://www.cbsnews.com/now/story/0,1597,317684-412,00.shtml)
The Washington Times reported that "One intelligence official said a warning was sent to senior Bush administration officials last week stating that unidentified terrorists were planning to carry out some type of mass attack on Nov. 11 — Veterans Day — at 11 a.m." (http://www.washtimes.com/national/20011113-11640902.htm)
Furthermore, an Al-Qaeda spokesperson had threatened, just a week ago, that the U.S. would see planes falling burning from the skies.
Of course, BuzzFlash hopes that Flight 587 was not a terrorist action.
But if you read between the lines of most of the mainstream news reports echoing the Administration spin, it is looking like any theory but an explosion is going to be tough to prove. Read this excerpt from yesterday’s CBS coverage:
"But
something caused the Airbus A300 to begin breaking up in air, killing
at least 262 people when it crashed in a neighborhood of New York City.
Both engines detached from the wings before the plane hit the ground,
falling in separate spots several blocks away from the primary crash scene.
And a half-mile from there, the jet's large vertical tail fin came down
— intact and virtually unscratched — in Jamaica Bay. The discovery has
stunned investigators, who now must consider the possibility that the
destruction of the plane began in the back.
Engineers say it would likely take a wholesale structural failure, a sudden
sideways movement of the jet, sabotage, or an explosive force to break
off the fin."
There was no sudden sideways movement of the jet, according to all eyewitness reports – a wholesale structural failure would be unprecedented. That is not to say that the plane was definitely sabotaged.
Even BuzzFlash readers are offering theories, such as this one:
"Buzzflash seems to buy into the bomb theory on the NYC crash. Here's my theory. The thrust reversers used to slow the plane on landing could have engaged during take-off. This reverse thrust would explain why the engines fell off, as well as why the plane broke up in mid-air since the aircraft would be trying to go forward and backward at the same time. This happened on a Boeing 767 during flight at cruising altitude and caused the plane to disintegrate."
So, there may be other reasons that Flight 587 fell apart in the sky, but sabotage is certainly a strong possibility.
For the moment, that is the theory that the government likely needs to disprove, rather than minimize. Otherwise, their credibility may be damaged in the long run, if it turns out to be a terrorist act.
If it’s not a terrorist act, then the airlines industry may be facing a whole other problem: loss of public faith in the structural integrity of the U.S. fleet.
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