Veteran's Day in New York's borough of Queens quickly turned to catastrophe Monday morning as an American Airlines Airbus A300 crash-landed in a residential neighborhood.
Flight 587 nose-dived into the Rockaway section of Queens at 9:17 a.m. EST after being in flight for only three minutes upon takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport, located five miles away. The jet was destined for Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.
Of the 260 people on board Flight 587, search teams had recovered 225 bodies, National Transportation Safety Board officials said late Monday. Six adults on the ground are also reported as missing.
Witnesses said they saw an explosion before the crash, which completely destroyed four homes, severely damaged four others and burned an additional dozen.
According to emergency response officials, the plane began to break apart before the crash, and debris was found at four locations.
A piece of the tail section from Flight 587 was pulled from Jamaica Bay, the expanse of water that separates JFK from Rockaway.
\We have been advised that the pilot did dump fuel over Jamaica Bay before the crash, which is consistent with the pilot having some belief that there was a significant mechanical failure on the plane,"" New York Gov. George Pataki said at a press conference.
Aviation analyst Jim McKenna, however, told CNN that the fuel tank in the tail section of the plane could also be a possible source of fuel found in the bay.
Although all preliminary indications have placed mechanical failure as responsible, fears of another terrorist attack were raised by a community still mourning the Sept. 11 tragedy. Rockaway was home to many firefighters and police officers killed in the World Trade Center attacks.
White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said in a press conference initial reports did not indicate unusual communications with the cockpit.
When asked if there was any evidence of terrorism, Fleischer said law enforcement agencies will not be leaving any stone unturned.
""We have not ruled anything in; we have not ruled anything out,"" he said.
NTSB investigators recovered the plane's cockpit voice recorder and took it to Washington, D.C., for analysis.
Investigators are still looking for the flight data recorder, which will provide information about how different systems, including the engines, were performing during Flight 587's short flight, according to the NTSB.
Following the crash, all three New York-area airports closed.
UW-Madison students in the Memorial Union Rathskeller reflected on the tragedy.
Senior Jason Harklerod said he believed the crash was linked to the Sept. 11 attacks.
""This tragedy was obviously an act of terror; conditions were too perfect,"" he said.
Senior Vicki Schwantes agreed with Harklerod but said she hopes the investigation will pursue every possible lead.
""Considering the current state of the nation, this should be looked into as a sabotage and nothing should be overlooked,"" she said.
