> From: John Garcia <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Now the local news is reporting new eyewitness statements that say the > plane was flying normally when a flash of light on the starboard (right for > some of you) wing appeared, then black smoke as the plane headed straight > down. The plane was headed from JFK airport to the Dominican Republic. New > York City is in a heightened state of alert with the bridges and tunnels > closed. JFK airport is locked down, and flights into the metropolitan area > have been diverted.
Queens crash witnesses tell of explosion Witnesses of the New York air crash have reported hearing an explosion moments before the plane came down. One said he thought he saw an engine on the American Airlines Airbus A300 blow up. Another told CNN that she heard a loud explosion and reported seeing pieces of "silvery metal" falling from the sky. She added: "I didn't hear an explosion at first ... I heard an explosion - a big bang - boom - in front of the house." Another witness said she had seen a "fireball" as the plane hit a building behind her home. The unnamed woman said: "I saw this hit the house right behind my house. It seemed so low that I was ducking, almost. Then there was this enormous fireball. It is utter terror here, everybody's just in shock. It's hard to believe, you don't think it's going to hit this close to home." Eddie Niedes said he saw an engine on the wing blow up seconds before the plane plunged to the ground. He added: "It was flying fine with no problems. It seemed to be on a normal flightpath. Then the engine on the right side blew up and it went straight down into a nosedive. "There were flames on the right hand side. It was very fast. I don't think the pilot had any choice but to go straight down." He added: "It was very very frightening. I was watching the plane from my office all the way along and it blew up right in front of my eyes." Story filed: 15:35 Monday 12th November 2001
