Airbus inspections ordered in wake of air crash

An image from a NASA video shows a test of the effects of wake turbulence. Investigators are looking at whether such turbulence played a role in the New York crash.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Federal Aviation Administration and France's director of civil aviation ordered airlines Friday to inspect their Airbus A300-600 and A310 aircraft for damage to their vertical tails or rudders.

The French and U.S. directives give airlines 15 days to check fittings on the tails and rudders for loose fasteners, distorted surfaces and cracks and corrosion.

The order follows the Monday crash of American Airlines flight 587 -- an Airbus A300, manufactured in France -- in the Rockaway community in Queens, New York. The crash killed all 260 people aboard the plane, and five people on the ground at the time of the crash are presumed dead.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators have speculated that wake turbulence from a Japan Airways Boeing 747 might have caused the tail fin of flight 587 to snap off, making pilots lose control of the jet.

VIDEO Investigators are looking into the possibility that turbulence from another plane contributed to the crash. CNN's Kathleen Koch reports (November 15) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   AUDIO A witness describes the crash 139K / 12.7 sec WAV sound David Saliro and his brother were in a car on a bridge on-ramp when the plane crashed. 386K / 31.3 sec WAV sound    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

Data from the aircraft's flight data recorder reveal the jet apparently encountered turbulence twice as it climbed after takeoff, and then rolled to the left in the seconds before it crashed.

NTSB Chairwoman Marion Blakey said Thursday that acceleration data were "consistent with a wake encounter" about 28 seconds before the end of the recording, and again with eight seconds left on the recording.

An 'aerodynamic effect'

According to the plane's cockpit voice recorder, the first sign of trouble was a rattling in the aircraft's frame 107 seconds into the flight. Moments later, a second shudder wracked the plane. The copilot who was at the controls, called for maximum power.

As the last eight seconds of the flight data recording ticked off, Blakey said, "rudder position data became unreliable." That and crew conversation suggests that the pilots could not control the aircraft.

The NTSB said it hasn't found any evidence of impact with a foreign object, nor any indications that the flight was sabotaged, said George Black, a member of the safety board.

"It appears to be some sort of aerodynamic effect" that caused the crash, Black said.

That effect has been traced to the JAL 747, which was cleared for takeoff about two minutes and 20 seconds before the American Airlines flight, but actually took off one minute and 45 seconds ahead of flight 587, Blakey said Wednesday. FAA regulations require four nautical miles of separation between departing flights -- which translates to less than two minutes of flight time during takeoff.

NTSB investigators said the planes were at the required distance at takeoff, although there had been some confusion about that earlier. But the two flew closer and closer together -- as close as 90 seconds apart -- above JFK as the American Airlines flight took a turn to the left off the runway.

The mandatory inspections, meanwhile, are expected to average one hour per Airbus. Airlines must report all findings of the inspections, even if no problems are found, to the FAA or Airbus. Any damage found during the inspections must be repaired before the plane can be flown again, according to the FAA directive.

American Airlines said it has already begun inspections on the A300s in its fleet. No other U.S. passenger airline flies A300s.