Whatever its cause, the fiery crash of another airliner in New York adds to the sense of horror the city and the nation have been coping with since Sept. 11.

The deaths of hundreds of people in the crash of a passenger plane would be a tragedy under any circumstances. In the fragile Zeitgeist that has enveloped us since Sept. 11, the crash of American Airlines flight 587 evoked an even deeper sense of horror.

The people of New York had barely begun the arduous process of recovering from the catastrophic events of Sept. 11. Another disaster of such magnitude, turning a residential community in Queens into a smaller replica of the inferno still smoldering where the twin towers had stood, strains the city to the breaking point.

New York's surviving firefighters, working exhausting shifts for the past two months in the most hellish of circumstances, haven't had proper time to grieve for their dead colleagues. Now this. Police, medical workers and other public servants are being confronted with similar tests of their physical and emotional endurance. Millions of other New Yorkers are suffering through a prolonged psychological assault whose long-term effects are impossible to measure or anticipate.

And what of the rest of us? Until Sept. 11, plane crashes didn't automatically provoke suspicions of terrorism. Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board and other federal agencies did a good job Monday of allaying fears and telling the public what they did and didn't know. Still, it is imperative that investigators determine the cause of the crash of the Airbus A300 as quickly and definitively as possible. The national psyche will remain on edge until then.

Monday's crash makes Washington lawmakers look even more irresponsible for having allowed partisan gamesmanship to delay efforts to tighten airline safety and security. President Bush and congressional leaders of both parties should redouble their efforts to correct the glaring flaws in the aviation system's screening of passengers and luggage, as well as in the oversight of workers with access to planes on the ground.

Monday's crash will lead to pressure to expand the federal bailout of the airlines, insurers and other industries damaged by the events of the past two months. Before considering any further financial aid, though, Washington should finish the job of tightening airport security and air safety. Until the public's faith in air travel is re-established, the airlines and the broader economy will be in trouble, whether or not Washington offers more bailouts. For now, Americans' fears -- and our empathy for the people of New York -- are a fact of life in the post-Sept. 11 world.
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