XPost: alt.disasters.aviation, rec.aviation.piloting, rec.travel.air 
 XPost: rec.travel.usa-canada 
 From: news@breaking.news.now 
  
 NTSB staff: Co-pilot error caused 2001 crash 
 Accident in Queens, New York, claimed lives of 265 people 
  
 WASHINGTON (AP) -- The co-pilot of American Airlines Flight 587 caused 
 the November 2001 crash in Queens, New York, that claimed the lives of 
 265 people, the staff of the nation's airline safety agency reported 
 Tuesday. 
  
 Investigator Robert Benzon of the National Transportation Safety Board 
 staff said the co-pilot's response to turbulence, just seconds after 
 the Airbus A300-600 plane took off from New York's John F. Kennedy 
 International Airport, was "unnecessary and aggressive." 
  
 Benzon also said that investigators found that American Airlines 
 improperly trained its pilots to use the aircraft's rudder while 
 recovering from upsets and said the problem could have been 
 exacerbated by the airline's simulator training. 
  
 Benzon also said that the rudder control system on the aircraft is 
 sensitive at higher air speeds, which is potentially hazardous. 
  
 The safety board itself was expected to rule later Tuesday on the 
 staff's findings. 
  
 On November 12, 2001, First Officer Sten Molin, the co-pilot, moved 
 the plane's rudder back and forth after takeoff, trying to control the 
 climbing aircraft, not realizing he was sealing the grim fate of those 
 on board. 
  
 Molin was at the controls when the plane hit turbulence almost 
 immediately after taking off for the Dominican Republic. 
  
 "Hang onto it, hang onto it," Capt. Edward States implored. 
  
 "Let's go for power, please," Molin said. 
  
 A second later came a loud bang, which investigators believe was the 
 tail breaking off. Then came the roar of air rushing against the 
 aircraft and alarms sounding in the cockpit. 
  
 "What the hell are we into (inaudible)?" Molin said. "We're stuck in 
 it." 
  
 States' last recorded words came five seconds later: "Get out of it! 
 Get out of it!" 
  
 Both Airbus Industrie, which manufactured the jetliner, and American 
 Airlines, which trained Molin, agree that if he had taken his foot off 
 the rudder pedal, the tail wouldn't have broken off, the plane 
 wouldn't have plunged into a New York City neighborhood. It was the 
 second deadliest plane crash on U.S. soil. 
  
 But Molin didn't know he was putting more pressure on the tail than it 
 could bear. Why he didn't -- and who's to blame for that -- is the 
 subject of a bitter fight between Airbus and American. 
  
 According to investigators, Molin tried to steady the aircraft using 
 pedals that control the rudder, a large flap on a plane's tail. When 
 his initial movement failed, Molin tried again and again. His actions 
 placed enormous stress on the tail. 
  
 American, the only U.S. airline to use that type of Airbus plane for 
 passenger service, claims Airbus didn't alert it to the danger of 
 sharp rudder movements until after the crash. The airline also 
 contends the Airbus A300-600 has uniquely sensitive flight controls 
 that can cause more severe rudder movements than the pilot intends. 
  
 "Airbus had the ability to truly red-flag the issue," American 
 spokesman Bruce Hicks said. 
  
 Airbus says it told American a number of times and in a number of ways 
 that the airline was improperly training pilots about how to use the 
 rudder. 
  
 An Airbus spokesman declined to comment on the investigation before 
 the hearing. However, the company has provided the NTSB with a number 
 of documents to support its claim. 
  
 For example, a letter dated August 20, 1997, warned American chief 
 pilot Cecil Ewing that rudders should not be moved abruptly to right a 
 jetliner or when a plane is flown at a sharp angle. The letter was 
 signed by representatives from The Boeing Co., the Federal Aviation 
 Administration and Airbus. 
  
 Airbus contends that even people within American Airlines were 
 concerned about how the airline was training its pilots. A letter to 
 Airbus dated May 22, 1997, from American technical pilot David Tribout 
 expressed concern about the airline's then-new training course on 
 advanced maneuvers. 
  
 "I am very concerned that one aspect of the course is inaccurate and 
 potentially hazardous," Tribout wrote. His concern: Pilots were being 
 taught that the rudder should be used to control a plane's rolling 
 motion. Hicks countered that Airbus didn't share important safety 
 information about the rudder after a problem with American Flight 903 
 in May 1997. During that incident, pilots used the rudder to steady an 
 Airbus A300-600 plane on approach to West Palm Beach airport. The 
 plane nearly crashed and one person was seriously injured. 
  
 Afterward, Airbus told the NTSB that it included a warning that abrupt 
 rudder movement in some circumstances "can lead to rapid loss of 
 controlled flight," and, in others, could break off the tail. 
  
 Hicks said Airbus' comments didn't specifically say the rudder 
 movements on Flight 903 had exposed the tail to so much pressure that 
 it could have been ripped off. 
  
 Immediately after the Flight 903 incident, an inspection found no 
 damage to the tail. But five years later, the plane was inspected more 
 closely because of concerns aroused by the crash of Flight 587. Cracks 
 were found and the tail was replaced. 
  
 John David, a spokesman for American Airlines' pilots union, said 
 pilots had always thought that they could use rudders to the full 
 extent without hurting the airplane. He also believes Airbus didn't 
 properly communicate what it knew. 
  
 American now gives its pilots specialized training on the rudder 
 control system based on information learned during the investigation. 
  
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