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© St. Petersburg Times, published October 30, 2002
WASHINGTON -- In just eight seconds, the pilots lost control.
A cockpit transcript of American Airlines Flight 587 released Tuesday reveals the pilots' confusion and alarm as their plane twisted out of control.
Capt. Edward States and co-pilot Sten Molin had just departed from John F. Kennedy International Airport Nov. 12 when their plane encountered the wake of a Japan Airlines 747 that had departed ahead of them.
"What the hell are we into?" Molin asked. "We're stuck in it."
The Airbus A300 was skidding sideways. It encountered a wall of air that snapped off the tail fin, rendering the aircraft uncontrollable. The plane crashed in Queens, N.Y., killing all 260 people on board and five on the ground. It was the second-deadliest aviation accident in U.S. history.
At a hearing Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board released thousands of pages that reveal new details about the airplane, the pilots and the airline.
The reports suggest that Molin's rapid commands caused the sudden skid. But they don't solve the riddles of Flight 587: What prompted his sudden reaction? How could a seasoned pilot lose control so quickly?
As the silver American jet waited to take off for Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Molin and States discussed the possibility they might run into wake turbulence from the Japan Airlines 747 taking off ahead of them. "You happy with that distance?" Molin asked. "We'll be all right once get rollin'," States replied. "He's supposed to be 5 miles by the time we're airborne -- that's the idea."
The weather was ideal -- blue sky, 42 degrees -- as Flight 587 roared down the runway and climbed over Jamaica Bay. An air traffic controller told them to follow a departure route known as "Bridge" as they climbed away from the airport.
"Contact New York Departure," the controller said. "Good morning."
"American 587 heavy, so long," States replied.
A controller told them to turn toward a navigational waypoint. They banked left and had their first encounter with the 747's wake, which jostled the plane.
"Little wake turbulence, huh?" States asked. "Yeah," Molin said.
The plane was at 2,420 feet, banking to the left, when it encountered the wake a second time.
The flight data recorder indicates the pilots felt the wake as a slight bump. Molin would have had a brief sensation that he weighed half his weight.
NTSB investigators said Tuesday that they have found no evidence that the plane's controls malfunctioned. The flight recorder indicates Molin was controlling the plane because of the timing and force used on the rudder pedals.
At virtually the same moment Molin felt the bump, he rapidly turned the wheel right to move the ailerons, the wing panels that make the plane bank, and he pushed the right rudder pedal.
He then twisted the wheel back to the left. The plane could not keep up with the rapid commands. The rudder, the big vertical panel on the plane's tail, had come to the right, but Molin was pushing it left.
Molin then twisted the wheel back to the right.
"Max power," he said with a strained voice, directing States to increase the engine thrust. "You all right?" States asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine.
"Hang onto it, hang onto it," States told him.
Molin turned the wheel sharply to the left again. One second later, he applied full left rudder while turning the wheel to the right. Pilots are supposed to make those commands simultaneously in the same direction, but it appears he was out of synch.
"Let's go for power please," Molin said.
The plane was skidding sideways, putting a huge force on the tail fin. Investigators believe the force exceeded the "ultimate load," the maximum force the tail was designed to withstand.
A loud bang was heard in the cockpit, probably from the tail fin snapping off. It had been only eight seconds since the encounter with the wake.
Molin grunted.
"Holy (deleted)," Molin said.
Warning chimes sounded in the cockpit as the plane's systems failed.
"What the hell are we into?" Molin said. "We're stuck in it."
"Get out of it, get out of it," States said.
The voice recorder lost its power and stopped. The plane was out of control, tumbling toward the earth.
NTSB investigators say the turbulence Flight 587 encountered should have been routine for a pilot such as Molin. It jostled the plane slightly, but it should not have prompted such a response.
Investigators have been focusing on the rudder commands because they caused the plane to skid sideways, which ultimately snapped off the tail fin. The NTSB is trying to determine if the American Airlines training program emphasized rudder too much.
Documents released Tuesday provide several new details about American's training and Molin's experience with it. John Francis Lavelle, an American pilot who flew several trips with Molin, told investigators this year that he noticed on one flight that Molin was "very aggressive on the rudder pedals." When Lavelle asked him what he was doing, Molin said he was following the airline's training.
Capt. David Tribout, an American A300 pilot, wrote to an Airbus test pilot in 1997 that he was "very concerned" that his airline's training program emphasized too much rudder use. He said the program was "inaccurate and potentially hazardous." The Airbus pilot wrote back that he also was concerned and would pass on the concerns to American.
A few months later, Airbus, Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration wrote a joint letter to American. That prompted American to change the wording in some of its manuals, although the airline says the initial program did not overemphasize rudder. Airbus training vice president, Larry Rockliff, testified Tuesday that he is still concerned with the airline's emphasis on rudder. He said it was "a major sticking point that's been an ongoing point since the end of 1995."