WASHINGTON - The FBI, on high alert following the September 11 attacks, said there was no indication this morning's crash of an American Airlines jet in New York was a terrorist attack.
"Right now we don't believe it is (a terrorist incident) because we don't have any information indicating that it
is," Federal Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Tracy Ballinger told Reuters.
The Airbus A-300 passenger jet crashed while taking off from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, ploughing through nearby homes at 3.15 am (NZ time).
Flight 587 was bound for Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and local television networks said it was carrying 246 passengers and nine crew. There was no immediate word on casualties.
On September 11, two hijacked planes were rammed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, killing more than 4500 people. A third plane hit the Pentagon and a fourth crashed in Pennsylvania.
- REUTERS
* The New Zealand Herald will publish a special edition today with updated coverage of the New York city plane crash. This special edition will be on sale in Auckland and main provincial cities at midday.
Map of crash area
