I'm listening to some informed commentator on CCN right now, 0840 am PST, and his comments echo my gut reaction after seeing the A300 engine lying in the gas station - there's a a two-foot diameter ragged hole in the side of the engine nacelle - the engine does nogt appear to me to have exploded in the conventional sense of the word, but something has possibly come unglued and exited the engine at high speed, creating the hole. No word of any report from the aircrew, but this looks at first review to be a possible bird ingestion, turbine blade seperation and/or compressor explosion, and a resultant fire/explosion in the CWT.

Pilots trailing the doomed jet reported a smoke trail from one of its engines, while various witnesses on the ground reported fire in an engine, engine and wing separating from the plane, and the sound of an explosion - not necessarily in that order.

Bad news no matter what the cause, but at present I don't see any sign of possible terrorist involvement in this tragedy. White House, AA briefings imminent so maybe we'll learn more.

sp