American Airlines flight 587 flight headed for the Dominican Republic crashed this morning, leaving no known survivors. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board says all the information that’s been gathered so far is “consistent with an accident.”

Six adult residents from the Queens area of New York where the plane crashed are missing and 161 bodies have been recovered, says Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. The plane had 246 passengers on board and nine crew members. Flight 587 fell to the ground about 9:17 a.m., three minutes after it left Kennedy Airport bound for Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, said NYC police. The plane went down in the Far Rockaway neighbourhood.

One flight recorder has been recovered from the site and was sent to Washington for analysis. A White House spokesperson said there were no unusual communications with the Airbus A300 plane prior to the crash. No credible threats were received.

The U.S. military has not increased patrols over New York City following the crash. Two Pentagon officials say no additional fighters have been dispatched to the New York area. They say the matter is being handled by the Federal Aviation Administration as a domestic disaster – with no military implications.

All three New York area airports – JFK, LaGuardia and Newark – were closed following today’s crash.ÊThey re-opened by mid-afternoon.

Air Canada has cancelled all flights into New York after the city’s three airports were shut down. Air Canada spokeswoman Laura Cooke says her airline’s flights are cancelled until late this afternpoon. Stranded passengers are now being accomodated on other Air Canada flights. All Canadian airports remained open. The military made no change in its status.

Four buildings were set ablaze in Queens. Thick, black smoke was seen several miles away. Local news broadcasters in New York are quoting witnesses as saying there was an explosion on the plane before the crash. A senior Bush administration official says that there was an explosion aboard the plane, an Airbus A300, but that the source of the explosion is unknown.

Soon after the crash, Mayor Giuliani called a level one security alert. All available security personnel reported to the area. Emergency crews set up command posts in the area. Forty-four fire trucks and 200 firefighters are on the scene.

The crash is the first involving a U.S. airliner since the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. That attack prompted a shutdown in the nation’s air traffic system and sharply decreased demand for air travel by the public.


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