Washington, D.C.

NTSB blames pilot error for 2001 plane crash

American Airlines Flight 587 lost its tail and plummeted into a New York City neighborhood in November 2001, killing 265 people, because the co-pilot improperly used the rudder to try to steady the plane, federal safety investigators ruled Tuesday.

The National Transportation Safety Board also said an overly sensitive rudder system on the Airbus A300-600 and inadequate pilot training by American were contributing factors.

The safety board recommended that the Federal Aviation Administration set new standards to make sure pilots can safely handle planes when they veer to the side and to study whether the A300-600 can be redesigned to limit the danger of overusing the rudder.

The crash occurred shortly after the jet bound for the Dominican Republic took off from John F. Kennedy International Airport. The plane encountered turbulence caused by a Boeing 747 that took off just ahead of it. According to investigators, co-pilot Sten Molin tried to steady the aircraft using pedals that control the rudder, a large flap on a plane’s tail. When his initial movement failed, Molin tried again and again. His actions placed enormous stress on the tail. Within seconds, the tail broke off and the plane crashed.

Washington, D.C.

Fords worst in crash tests

Two 2005 Ford vehicles, the two-door Focus and the Ranger 4×4 pickup, were the worst performers in new government crash and rollover tests, according to results released Tuesday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the rear passenger was at risk of serious head injury when the Focus was hit in the side in a 38.5 mph test. The Focus was tested without side air bags, which a Ford Motor Co. Web site lists as a $350 option on the vehicle.

The Ranger 4×4 and its corporate twin, the Mazda B-Series 4×4, earned two out of five stars in NHTSA’s rollover ratings, the lowest of the 10 2005 pickups tested. NHTSA said the Ranger and the B-Series have a 30.6 percent chance of rolling over in a crash. The ratings consider the vehicle’s height and weight and its performance in a 35 to 50 mph test with a sharp turn.

Iowa

NASA expert warns of global warming cover-up

The Bush administration is trying to stifle scientific evidence of the dangers of global warming in an effort to keep the public uninformed, a NASA scientist said Tuesday night.

“In my more than three decades in government, I have never seen anything approaching the degree to which information flow from scientists to the public has been screened and controlled as it is now,” James E. Hansen told a University of Iowa audience in Iowa City.

Hansen is director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York and has twice briefed a task force headed by Vice President Dick Cheney on global warming.

Hansen said the administration wants to hear only scientific results that “fit predetermined, inflexible positions.” Evidence that would raise concerns about the dangers of climate change is often dismissed as not being of sufficient public interest.

“This, I believe, is a recipe for environmental disaster,” Hansen said.