Interesting indeed and mostly small planes, relatively speaking, which have been severly affected by a wake vortex. More on Flt. 587 <a href="<http://www.aviationnow.com/avnow/news/channel_maint.jsp?view=story&id=news/raa11114.xml">here from Aviation Now (AW&ST)

The engines appear relatively intact - no sign of bird or foreign object injestion, and no sign of catastrophic engine failure. In addition, the vertical stabilizer retrieved from Jamaica Bay is in essentially pristine condition, i.e. no sign of impact from separated engines or other plane parts.

What we are left with at present, then, is a plane which has come apart in midair at relatively low speed, and no obvious sign of what caused this calamity.

As you note, a pilot reported turbulence or air wake, and there are rattling sounds on the CVR, so some are considering the possibility that a wake vortex or trailing turbulence from a JAL 747 flying ahead of the doomed A300 might have played some role in the crash, as you suggest. Reports I've seen put the 747 no less than 7 (nautical?) miles ahead of the A300, and the take-off interval between the two planes was in excess of the two minute recommended minimum, as well, so that possibility seems to me to be a remote one, especially since the A300 is a big plane, much bigger than a DC-9.

Larry, I wonder if some problem with the rudder could have thrown the big plane into an attitude or orientation where dynamic forces could have caused the plane to break up.

I was thinking of that Tu-144 (Concordski) which disintegrated in midair during a flyby at I believe the Paris Air Show back in the 70's. Frontline did a story on this disaster some time ago which reported that the pilot of the Russian SST had attempted to avoid a French jet which was zipping around surreptitiously trying to take intelligence photos of the Charger (I think that was the NATO designation for the craft.). Reportedly, the Russian pilot's attempted manuever put excessive stress on the Tupolev's airframe, and the sleek jet came unglued.

As for 587, a witnessing pilot reported smoke coming from an engine during take-off, but a video shot of the plane up to the time of gear retraction apparently shows no problem, so there is that contradiction, although the witnessing pilot's language is not precise.

Apparently, most of the pieces of the plane were found in a straight line, and the rudder was found about 200 yds further along the plane's flight path from where the vertical stabilizer itself came to rest underwater in Jamaica Bay. As near as I can tell, these two components were the first in the A300's debris trail.

From the first indication of trouble, only about 30 seconds elapsed before the plane plummeted to earth.

Whether caused by sabotage or mechanical failure, this accident comes at the worst possible time for the air transport industry and jittery air travelers.

Incidentally, I remember that '91 Colo. Springs crash well. The flight originated in the city where I lived at the time.

sp