Engine Fell Off First

NEW YORK, Monday - Eyewitness reports indicate an engine fell off an American Airlines plane before it slammed into a New York residential area on Monday, Mayor Rudy Giuliani said. “At least one group of people who saw it say the engine came off first, then the plane crashed,” Giuliani told local television. Giuliani said he had spoken to President George W. Bush and that the United States fighter jets were in the skies over New York as part of a huge security operation two months after hijacked planes were used to destroy the World Trade Center. “Everyone should remain calm, we have talked to the White House several times, there is aircover, you can see the jets up in the air, making certain this is an isolated incident.” “We have put the city on high alert,” he said, adding that the fire and smoke around the crash site is “very, very bad.” “Our effort has to be focused on trying to save survivors if any,” Giuliani said. “The rest of the city should remain calm.” US fighter aircraft were conducting combat air patrols over New York but they were not involved, a spokesman for North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) said. “We were aware of the situation as soon as the FAA was,” said Major Barry Venable, the NORAD spokesman. But asked whether US fighter jets were involved, he said: “They were not.” Ends