Flight 587 Memorial Brings Comfort, Raises Questions
BY LIZ GOFF

Photo DMD Imgaes Silent closure for family of flight 587 victim.

Five years after the second worst air disaster in U.S. history, family and friends gathered on November 12 to dedicate a memorial to the victims of American Airlines Flight 587. The Airbus A300, bound for the Dominican Republic, crashed shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport into a residential neighborhood in Belle Harbor at precisely 9:17 a.m. on November 12, 2001, killing 260 people on board and five others on the ground.

The $9.2 million granite memorial is located 15 blocks from the site of the crash. Surrounded by a grove of pear trees that frame an ocean view, the curved wall bears the name of each victim in a "peaceful, reflective setting where visitors can pause to remember those lost in the crash", organizers said.

Not all of the victims' relatives are pleased with the memorial. Some relatives wanted to see the wall built at the scene of the crash-a site they consider sacred ground. Area homeowners disagreed, citing their need to move on with their lives in a neighborhood that suffered heavy losses on September 11, 2001.

"It didn't seem right to place a memorial on the same land with a house, where people are living," said homeowner Chris Mulvaney. "It's just not respectful."

Other homeowners described the location of the memorial as a delicate issue, citing the community's need to move on following the loss of "too many" of their firefighter neighbors on September 11. "We don't need a constant reminder of these tragedies," Mulvaney said.

Evelyn Erskine, a spokesperson for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, agreed that the location of the memorial was sensitive. Erskine said the site chosen for the memorial is "peaceful", and it is accessible by public transportation for those without other means of access.

"It means a lot to us to have this memorial dedicated to our loved ones," said Ozone Park resident Belkis Lora, whose brother died in the crash. "After five years, we finally have a place where our loved ones will be remembered."

Meanwhile, problems with the rudder design of Airbus A300 series aircraft remain unsolved, said a spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

An NTSB probe of the crash of Flight 587 laid blame on the flight's first officer, who "used unnecessary and extensive rudder movements" that caused the plane to plummet onto Belle Harbor, the probe said.

NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker said this week that government agencies in the United States and Europe have made "little if any progress" in improving the rudder system since the crash of Flight 587.

Rosenker said that while pilots have been made aware of the dangers associated with movement of the rudder system on the A300 series of jetliners, officials at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have done little to ensure that the rudder system is equipped with safe handling characteristics needed to prevent future tragedies.

Pilots balked at the probe's findings that human error was responsible for the crash of Flight 587. A group of pilots has called on the NTSB to conduct a probe of the composite material used in the construction of the A300 series Airbus to determine if the material played a part in the crash.