23 Years Ago: The Fatal Crash of American Airlines Flight 587

23 years ago, the world was shocked by a major crash just months after the horrific incidents of September 11th. Initial speculations and fear assumed this to be another terrorist attack, but the actual cause of the crash ended up being something completely different.

American Airlines Flight 587

On November 12th, 2001, flight 587 was preparing for departure from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. Operating the flight was an Airbus A300-600 registered N14053, which at the time was a nearly 14-year-old airframe. Onboard were 260 occupants, to include passengers and crew, and the flight was bound for the sunny Dominican Republic. 

After takeoff, the aircraft encountered wake turbulence from a preceding Japan Airlines Boeing 747-400 departure. The First flight officer responded by jamming the rudder right, left, and back right again in quick succession. These actions put the aircraft in a sideslip condition, and the lateral forces overcame the strength of the composite lugs that attached the tail to the fuselage. The lugs then failed, and the vertical stabilizer fell off the aircraft and into Jamaica Bay about a mile north of where the plane would subsequently crash. 

After the stabilizer fell off, the aircraft entered a flat spin, where the aerodynamic loads sheared both engines off the aircraft. From takeoff to crash, the flight lasted only 1 minute and 45 seconds. All passengers and crew on board perished, along with 5 bystanders on the ground at the crash site. It remains the second deadliest aviation accident in U.S. history.

Looking Back

In the Rockaways, a ceremony was held at the flight's memorial to commemorate the anniversary of the crash.  "The truth is, 23 years later, I still mourn the loss of my father and sister," Teresita Corcoran said through tears at the ceremony. She was just 14 when the flight crashed. 

Mayor Eric Adams also spoke at the ceremony, offering words of solace to the families of those who were lost on that day. "The pain does not dissipate. Over 20-something years, it’s still as fresh and as new to the family members who feel the loss, and it is so important that we read over the names because it allows us to hold on to those memories,” Adams said. “Flight 587 will always be remembered.” 

Also in attendance a the ceremony, for the first time since helping with the recovery efforts of the crash itself, were members from the Department of Corrections. The same members who had helped with 9/11 recovery efforts just months before. "It's emotional. It’ll never leave you," former correction officer Samuel Valle said. "But it gives you some solace to some degree that you brought remains back home to families that need some sort of what they call closure."

Summary

Any aviation accident has profound impact on a multitude of people. It's not just to the families of those affected, but those who help in the aftermath, those who must find the cause of the incident, and even a nation, who just months ago was rocked by the single deadliest act of terror ever committed on U.S. soil. But Belkis Lora, who lost her brother in the accident, said there is one thing remains constant and that we must uphold: “Our commitment to remembering this day and honoring the memories.”