Recovery effort aided by Navy ship, robot submarine

Preliminary tests suggest
explosive device involved

EAST MORICHES, New York (CNN) -- Investigators planned to focus Tuesday on the recovery of more bodies from the wreckage of TWA Flight 800 just off Long Island. The mid-air explosion of the Paris-bound flight shortly after takeoff killed all 230 passengers and crew aboard.

The USS Grasp, a Navy ship carrying a robotic submarine equipped with sonar, video and heavy lifting capabilities, joined the Pirouette in the search zone Tuesday. Weather conditions were favorable for continued diving operations, officials said.

Monday's efforts recovered the remains of six more victims from a wreckage site 104 feet below the surface. The bodies and wreckage were detected by side-scan sonar being used by the Navy, New York Police Department, and other vessels joining in the efforts.

Field-testing on wreckage already recovered from the crash may have detected a chemical residue, which would strongly suggest an explosive device brought down the 747 on Wednesday.

Sources close to the investigation told CNN a machine called the Egis, capable of detecting minute traces of explosive residue, picked up the chemical on the trailing edge of one wing near the rear baggage compartment of the jet.

FBI Assistant Director James Kallstrom would not comment on the report, and Francis said NTSB and FBI investigators were looking at wreckage pieces, but had come to no conclusions.
(381K AIFF or WAV sound)

The New York Times also reported Tuesday that initial tests had detected a residue, but that secondary tests on the same piece of wreckage did not.

Sources told CNN the tests were inconclusive, and that investigators were awaiting results from more extensive and sophisticated testing.

Investigators need to study other parts of the plane to make a more conclusive determination, and they say they are concerned that sections of the aircraft still underwater will be contaminated by the corrosive effect of sea water.

Victim recovery is top priority

New York Gov. George Pataki first announced the discovery of additional bodies during a memorial service for crash victims early Monday.

"God works in very strange ways. While we were here a major part of the fuselage has been found, additional bodies have been located, and we hope that your agony and struggle will come to a quicker end," Pataki said, addressing family members and others who had come to remember the victims of last Wednesday's crash.

The NTSB's Francis said at a news conference Monday that the bodies were found underneath a 30-by-60 foot piece of the fuselage. He added that the recovery of all the victims was the top priority in the search area.

Only after the bodies are recovered, Francis said, will the recovery of the wreckage begin. (102K AIFF or WAV sound)

As of Monday evening, the Suffolk County Medical Examiner had identified 68 of the 108 bodies recovered, and 66 of those victims' families had been notified of the identifications.

Kallstrom said he was encouraged by Monday's finds.

"I think this is a big step forward," Kallstrom said. "We want to get it (the wreckage) up so we can look at it forensically." (135K AIFF or WAV sound)

At Monday evening's news conference, Kallstrom said the FBI is considering three main scenarios for the explosion: a serious technical malfunction, a bomb on board, or a missile or some other vehicle striking the jet.

"Law enforcement hopes we walk away from here; we hope it's not a terrorist act," he said.

Workers have not detected any electronic signals, or "pings," from the flight data recorder or cockpit voice recorder, but Francis said maintenance records indicate the batteries in the "black box" signal emitters had recently been replaced. Francis surmised that the recorders could be shielded by the fuselage or sand.

The recorders are considered crucial because they would tell investigators about the last moments before the jet exploded into flames and plunged into the Atlantic minutes after its takeoff from New York's JFK International Airport.

In another development, President Clinton is sending James Lee Witt, the director the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to New York to be his "eyes and ears" on the TWA crash. White House spokesman Mike McCurry said Witt's experience coordinating federal, state and local agencies would be beneficial.

• USS GRASP (ARS-51)

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