Evening star., 1962-03-03
Crash Probers
StudyP|ane's
Control Units

NEW YORK, Mar. 3 (AP).-'
The grim task of determining
what caused an American Air
lines jetliner to plunge with 95
persons into the icy waters of
Jamaica Bay centered today on
the theory of a control system
failure.
But Government investigators
had no definite evidence that
it was such a failure that threw
the sleek Boeing TOT into a
nose dive Thursday, moments
after take-off from Idlewild
Airport.
All aboard died in what was
the worst accident in the Ma
tion's history involving a single
commercial aircraft.
Begrimed searchers dug ever
deeper into the salt water and
muck in a heart-rending search
for pieces of the disintegrated
aircraft and the remaining
dead.
Early today, salvage crews
had recovered 70 bodies. Only
II had been positively identi-
fled.
Recorder Box Missing
Possibly the most important
part of the $5.5 million astroiet
still buried in the bay was the
planes flight recorder box. a
yellow. steel globe about the
size Of a basketball.
The recorder, designed to
Withstand the force of any
crash, keeps a continuing rec
ord of the performance in flight
OF an aircraft-its speed, alti-
tude and other operational in
formation.
If undamaged. it should enable
investigators to reconstruct the
exact flight path and altitude
of the plane from the start of
its roll down the runway until
1t fell out of a left climbing
turn and plunged 800 feet or
more.
Fragments of the plane re-
covered so far have been liter
ally scooped up with shovels
and taken to an Idlewild
hanger for detailed study.
These include control devices in
such sections as the tail, wings
and cockpit.
Jack Screw Examined
Early yesterday, Civil Aero
nautics Board investigators
found a jack screw from the
system for electronically NOV
ing the tail Stabilizer up and
down. First examination in
dicated it was in the up" DO
sition, one that would have
forced the planes nose sharply
down.
But a CAB spokesman said
later that the jack screw had
not been found to be in an
extreme position up or down."
He added, however, that it
would be studied with great
care.
In Washington, the Federal
Aviation Agency announced
that it will use three of its
Boeing type Jet aircraft at the
agency'S aeronautical control
center at Oklahoma City to
test the control system.
1t also called on operators
OF Boeing jetliners to report all
incidents involving the stability
control of the planes of the
transport type.
Sabotage Not Suspected
The FAA said it is fairly
clear now that neither weather,
runway condition nor air
traffic control were significant
contributing factors to the
crash. And so far, it added,
there is no indication of sabo-
tage.
The astrojet had arrived in
New York shortly after mid
night on the day of the crash.
An airlines spokesman said it
was given maintenance to cor
rect radio and cabin pressure
problems which had developed
here on its flight from Tulsa.
1t was bound for Los Angeles
when it crashed.
Among the 81 passengers
killed was w. Alton Jones. IL,
New York oil man en- route to
California to join his longtime
friend, former President Dwight
D. Eisenhower, on a Mexican
fishing expedition.
Gen. Eisenhower will fly from
his vacation home in Palm
Springs for Mr.. Jones funeral
here on Monday.
Mr.. Jones was found yester-
day to have been carrying $751;
son in oocb opd CT nm i,o frou