Post Office Box 90, Clements, Maryland 20624 USA
|
Eyewitness Report sent to NTSB
On
11/12/01 at approximately 9:16 a.m. I was in the bathroom of my home on the
second story and about to shave. I live at 194 Beach 114th Street with second
story windows looking west towards Belleharbor. I heard a very abrupt and loud
bang which appeared to be "elevated" or originating from the sky and
very different from the sound of two cars colliding. The sky at that time was
clear and completely cloud free. I immediately looked westward and saw a large
aircraft heading south towards Belleharbor, flying out of Kennedy at
approximately 2,000 feet. Flames and smoke were clearly visible in the rear door
area and debris ( some large parts) could be seen falling to the earth. The
smoke, debris etc was occurring within one second or almost simultaneously with
the abrupt bang I heard. At that point the aircraft seemed to hesitate and drop
a few hundred feet in the sky continuing for a few seconds on the same flight
path, heading south towards the beach and Atlantic Ocean. Over Belleharbor
it suddenly made a sharp
turn to the left and nose dived into the ground behind some houses. I was
deeply shocked and prayed for the unfortunate passengers. I did notice,
before the plane hit the ground that the wings seemed to be relatively intact.
The aircraft looked beautiful in the last seconds of its life with the morning
sun glinting on the fuselage. I had my cell phone and immediately called the
100th precinct. I took note of the time which was approximately 9:17 a.m. I then
called the NTSB with an account of what I had seen and ran to the crash site. As
a Catholic Priest (retired) I got as close as I could to the impact zone and
gave a general blessing and absolution to the dead. I feel I am a reliable
eyewitness with a deep interest in aircraft. My nephew is presently a captain
with Irish Air Lines (Aer Lingus.) Sincrely Yours Patrick Twohig
|