New York ? Muffled sobs and raindrops on mourners’ umbrellas were the only sounds during a moment of silence marking the first anniversary Tuesday of the crash of an American Airlines jetliner that went down in a New York City neighborhood, killing 265 people.

White doves were released into the sky at the crash site in the Belle Harbor section of Queens, and mourners left white roses in memory of relatives and friends killed barely two months after the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attack.

“The rain is cleansing, and I think it’s appropriate for today,” said Judith Berghout-Marchand. “The spirit here is very somber.”

Her brother-in-law, 65-year-old Federico de la Asuncion, was headed to the Dominican Republic on vacation. His trip aboard American Flight 587 was a gift from co-workers at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, where he had just retired.

About 500 people gathered for the memorial observances in the quiet beach community and at a park some two miles away.

The crash, just minutes after the plane took off from Kennedy Airport, killed all 260 people on board plus five people on the ground.

In the Dominican Republic, a memorial Mass was held at the main cathedral in Santo Domingo, drawing more than 100 people, including President Hipolito Mejia.

The fiery crash raised fears of terrorism in Belle Harbor, where residents already were mourning their neighborhood’s World Trade Center victims.

Residents still get the jitters when planes fly over, said Tom McVeigh, a retired firefighter who lives just three blocks from the crash site.

Federal investigators are still trying to determine why the Airbus A300-600’s rudder swerved violently, causing the tail fin to suddenly break off.