Crash investigation focusing on engine trouble

Residents of the New York neighborhood where a plane crashed assisted firefighters with fire hoses and fire extinguishers.

SUMMARY:

At least 262 people were killed when an American Airlines flight crashed into a New York neighborhood Monday three minutes after taking off from John F. Kennedy International Airport en route to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Flight 587 took off at 9:14 a.m. EST and plunged into the Rockaway section of Queens, one of New York City's five boroughs.

UPDATE:

Investigators found the plane's flight data recorder on Tuesday. The National Transportation Safety Board said an analysis of the plane's cockpit voice recorder -- recovered by investigators Monday -- revealed all communications from the cockpit were normal, with only the voices of the pilot and co-pilot heard on the recorder.

Investigators are focusing on a "catastrophic engine event" as the likely cause of the crash. A U.S. Transportation Department official told CNN that terrorism has not been ruled out, but all evidence so far points to an engine problem.

Flight 587 was carrying 251 passengers and nine crew members. At least five people have been reported missing on the ground. New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani told CNN on Tuesday that 262 bodies had been recovered from the crash site.

At least four houses were destroyed in the crash, and four others seriously damaged.

The plane, an Airbus A300, had undergone its most recent maintenance check on Sunday, an American Airlines spokesman said. The jet's last major overhaul was in December 1999.

• Summary   • Update   • Key Questions   • Who's who  VIDEO: Firefighters, residents respond Witnesses describe crash  MORE STORIES Final minute 'a very wild ride' Chat: Probing Flight 587 Sailor back from war killed in crash Fact Sheet  INTERACTIVE: Gallery 1 | Gallery 2 Flight 587's final seconds A300 tail assembly Crash site map Tracking the wakes  RESOURCES: Airline releases victim list

The neighborhood where the crash occurred was the home of many World Trade Center employees and firefighters who died in the attacks of September 11, said Giuliani.

Relatives and friends in Santo Domingo waiting for the arrival of the flight at the airport sobbed and grasped each other after hearing about the crash.

KEY QUESTIONS:

What caused the crash?

How will the crash affect the airline industry?

What will the impact be on the psyche of New Yorkers who are still recovering from the terrorist attacks of September 11?

What is the extent of the injuries of those on the ground?

WHO'S WHO:

FAA: Federal Aviation Administration, government entity charged with ensuring and promoting the safety of civil aviation

NTSB: National Transportation Safety Board, federal agency that investigates aviation accidents in the United States

FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency, an independent agency that responds, plans for and promotes recovery from disasters