图片新闻【38】Disaster in 37 Seconds 37秒内的灾难－Ａ300坠毁之谜

A "rattling" noise was heard in the ill-fated American Airlines Flight 587 seconds before pilots lost control of the plane, crash investigators said today.

飞行事故调查员今天公布５８７号航班失控前几十秒曾传出连续尖利响声。

Preliminary analysis of the cockpit voice recording of Flight 587 found that the first sign of trouble came less than two minutes after takeoff from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, investigators said today.

飞机舱声音记录的黑匣子表明飞机起飞后不到两分钟就有了麻烦。

NTSB investigator George Black said a rattling sound is heard on the tape coming from the aircraft 107 seconds after the jet's engines powered up, presumably for takeoff. Seven seconds later, the plane encountered wake from another jet, and another seven seconds later, a second more audible rattling sound was heard. At the 127 second mark, Black said, there were "several comments" about losing control of the aircraft.

国家运输安全调查人员表示飞机起飞后１０７秒黑匣子里传来第一声利响，再过了１４秒传来更明显的第二声利响。到１２７秒时，飞机就处在了失控的紧急关头。

Less than 20 seconds later, the cockpit recording ends. In all, the recording — from takeoff to the end— lasts 2 minutes and 24 seconds.

再过了不到２０秒，录音终止。从起飞到录音终止，时间是２分２４秒。

The first of the two "black boxes" added to investigators' feeling that mechanical or human error caused the crash. There were no voices other than the pilots' on the tape, and no sounds that would indicate anything other than an accident, Black said today on Good Morning America.

两个黑匣子让官方认为此次坠机事件不象恐怖袭击，而更有可能是机械故障或人为失误，因为机舱录音里只有驾驶员的声音，而且录音到飞机失事的最后几秒仍然正常。

The engine involved in the crash, the CF6-80C2 made by General Electric, has had a series of problems. The FAA has ordered increased inspections of the engines.

飞机所用的引擎是通用电器所生产的CF6-80C2 型引擎，这类引擎有一系列问题。

A series of at least three CF6-80C2 engine failures in 2000 led the NTSB to recommend that the FAA step up inspections of the GE engine. The board said an apparent disintegration problem in the engines could cause a "catastrophic accident" if not addressed.

２０００年这类型的引擎曾出现至少三次问题，以致于国家运输安全局曾对通用电器的引擎展开调查。

American Airlines said the jet that crashed had a minor maintenance check on Sunday, and it was scheduled for a major check in July 2002. The plane's right engine, which witnesses said they saw fall off the plane, was almost ready for its major overhaul.

美国航空公布坠毁的飞机曾在星期天进行过一次小规模维修检查，原本计划在２００２年七月进行大修。

"The number 2 engine, which is the right engine, had 9,788 hours since its last overhaul, and an engine will typically have a major overhaul every 10,000 hours," said Al Becker, American Airlines spokesman. The jet's left engine had a major overhaul 694 flight hours ago.

飞机的右引擎自上次大修后已经有９７８８小时的飞行时间了，而飞机引擎通常飞行１００００小时就要大修一次。

Investigators are also considering the possibility that one of the airplane's engines collided with and ingested a large bird or flock of birds, leading to malfunctions.

调查人员也不排除飞机引擎吸如大鸟或鸟群导致引擎问题。