杏吧原创

WAS it an accident鈥攐r was there more to it? It鈥檚 the question people
always ask when a plane crashes. Yet never before has it been asked with quite
such urgency. And never has there been quite such a pressing need for reliable
information free of spin or presumption.

As New 杏吧原创 went to press, the established facts about Flight
587鈥檚 fall from the skies over New York were not quite of that calibre. It was
looking pretty certain that the tail and at least one engine fell off before
impact. Yet surprisingly, the cockpit voice recorder suggested the pilot was
unaware of any mechanical problems in the three minutes during and immediately
after take-off. If true, that points to some sort of sudden catastrophic event.
But what?

The authorities swiftly hinted at mechanical failure, rather than terrorism,
as the likeliest explanation. They may be right. But recent history shows just
how wide of the mark such early theories can be. Clearly the engine that fell
off Flight 587 will now be crucial to the investigation. Fires and cracks in jet
engines are not that uncommon but it鈥檚 rare for an engine to shear clean off its
wing. In 1979, the left engine fell off an American Airlines DC-10 as it took
off from Chicago, and in 1992 an engine fell off a 747 over Amsterdam, knocking
off a second engine and causing it to dive into an apartment block minutes after
take-off. Both crashes were eventually traced to weaknesses in the pylons
holding the engine to the wing, caused by faulty maintenance.

Perhaps something similar happened on Monday morning. Or perhaps the shearing
of the engine was merely a consequence rather than the cause of the catastrophic
event. Either way, it may be premature to rule out sabotage. Even if no bomb or
hijacker was involved, it鈥檚 possible terrorists could have been working as rogue
maintenance engineers. According to papers recovered by the FBI, one of the
suspected hijackers on 11 September once worked as an engineer for the company
that handles the maintenance for Saudi Arabian Airlines at John F. Kennedy
Airport.

Since 11 September, many airlines have stepped up security in the hangars. On
top of the usual checks, contract staff are now required to present their
passport, driver鈥檚 licence and a utility bill when turning up for work. But such
measures only ensure someone is who they say they are. They reveal nothing of
their intentions or allegiances.

Two years ago, Boeing admitted that it had fallen prey to industrial
sabotage, after someone deliberately cut a wire bundle on a brand-new 737. The
authorities investigating this week鈥檚 crash owe it to the people of New York to
prove that nothing similar brought down Flight 587.