U.S. to ban oxygen generators as air cargo
Devices were stored on crashed ValuJet
May 22, 1996
Web posted at: 11:30 p.m. EDTWASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Department of Transportation is banning oxygen generators as air cargo on all U.S. passenger airlines, effective immediately, CNN correspondent Carl Rochelle confirmed late Wednesday. Oxygen generators are being investigated as a possible cause of this month's deadly crash of a ValuJet plane.
The ban will be announced Thursday and will continue through the end of the year while the safety of the generators is being studied, a senior official with DOT said.
Earlier, FAA administrator David Hinson said the agency has conducted a thousand safety inspections and believes ValuJet is operating safely. But, he said, the agency will continue its intense scrutiny of the airline, whose Flight 592 crashed into the Florida Everglades May 11, killing all 110 people on board.
"Our investigations will continue until the middle of June -- about the 15th or 16th -- or until we are satisfied," Hinson told a news conference in Atlanta after meeting ValuJet officials.
Hinson refused to comment on speculation that oxygen-generating canisters in the DC-9's cargo hold might have caused a fire or explosion. "We must not assume what caused this accident," he said.
Heavy equipment to aid search
A salvage company has been called in to dredge the area where Flight 592 went down, after divers on Tuesday failed to find large pieces of the DC-9 in the swampy crater.
A crane and backhoe arrived on the scene Wednesday, and National Transportation Safety Board officials are expected to give the go-ahead to start raking the crash pit in a day or two. The salvage company said it would take a week to bring in all the equipment needed and survey the situation.
Tentative plans call for the crane to be used to pull up any heavy pieces of debris found buried in the mud. NTSB officials acknowledged some of the evidence could be damaged by the heavy equipment, but said investigators would do their best to avoid that.
A frustrating search
On Tuesday, teams of divers in protective gear searched the crater for the first time, but lifted out only two pieces, each about 3 by 6 feet. (383K QuickTime movie)
Metro-Dade Police diver Paul Toy estimated the crater was 75 feet long, 45 feet wide and about 7 feet deep -- half water and half mud.
At the point of the plane's impact, the crater is about 12 inches to 18 inches deeper, with basketball-size chunks of limestone rubble surrounding the indentation, Toy told CNN's Susan Candiotti during a live interview. (196K AIFF sound or 196K WAV sound)
The divers gave up their search after only a few hours because their movement stirred up the muck and made poor visibility even worse. There were no plans to send them back.
Wednesday, crews worked outside the crater. "They're doing a lot of hand searching and using some tools, including some rakes, similar to garden cultivating rakes," NTSB spokesman Pat Cariseo said.
Still missing is the cockpit voice recorder, which could provide clues to why the jet crashed.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- ValuJet searchers to dredge crash crater - May 22, 1996
- 'There's no airplane left' - May 21, 1996
- CNNfn - ValuJet co-founder sells 1.5 million shares - May 21, 1996
- Divers find little in probe of ValuJet crash crater - May 21, 1996
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