WASHINGTON (AFP) - US government accident investigators blamed pilot error for the crash of an American Airlines Airbus A300 in New York in November 2001 that left 265 people dead, officials said.
But a top official also said that pilot training should be changed to cope with difficulties with the jet.
The investigator, Robert Benzon, told a hearing of the board that the jet's co-pilot had made an "unnecessary and aggressive" response with the rudder to turbulence, a National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) spokesman said.
American Airlines Flight 587 crashed just after taking off from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on November 12, 2001.
The jet plunged into the borough of Queens as it started a flight to the Dominican Republic. It killed 260 people in the plane and five people on the ground.
Investigators from the NTSB, Airbus Industrie and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) found that the jet had been hit by "wake vortex turbulence" from the plane that took off in front.
The disaster came barely two months after the September 11 attacks on New York and caused a new terrorism alert. US Air Force jets were scrambled and airports in the region were closed.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell appeared before reporters to quickly announce that it was apparently an accident.
Benzon told the board that the A-300 jet's rudder become more sensitive at high speed and was a potential danger, the spokesman said.
But he added that the flight simulator used by the airline to train its pilots could also have contributed to the problems.
Details of the evidence were given in advance of the release of the board's official findings on the crash.
The five member board was to vote whether to back the investigation report at the end of the day after hearing the evidence.
American Airlines testimony to the investigation included highlighting a 1997 incident with an A300-600 that led Airbus to recommend an immediate inspection of rudders.
Airbus presented several documents to the NTSB including one co-signed by US manufacturer Boeing Co. and the FAA before the American Airlines' crash in which they expressed concern about rudder training for American Airlines pilots.
The investigation could prove crucial for American Airlines, which like most international carriers has struggled since the September 11 attacks, and Airbus. The result is likely to lead to costly court action for both.
American Airlines has already settled with 80 percent of the families of the victims of the doomed 2001 flight.
An Airbus official, who requested anonymity, told AFP that evidence had pointed all through the inquiry to pilot error but that it would be inappropriate to blame the dead co-pilot now for the disaster.
The official said more attention should be paid to the training for pilots.
10/26/2004 - 17:47 GMT - AFP