Widespread wreckage at crash scene

Mary Blakey, of the National Transportation Safety Board, has said that the plane's wreckage has spread over a wide area of Queens.

She said: ‘‘We have reports that there were a number of pieces of wreckage, including engine parts, that were scattered some distance from the actual crashed plane, but we do not have any specific information on the engines.’’

‘‘All the information we have currently is that this is an accident but we are coordinating with the FBI.’’

An American Airlines spokesman said tonight that the aircraft had had a maintenance check only the day before the crash. Its last major maintenance overhaul had been on December 9 1999, and the next was due in July 2002.

The spokesman said that, typically, engines have an overhaul every 10,000 hours of service. The number one engine had its last overhaul 694 hours ago, while the number two engine had its last overhaul 9,788 hours ago.

Tunnels linking different boroughs of the city were closed as a precaution after the crash.

Wreckage from the jet, which appeared to be part of the engine, littered a street some distance from where the plane came down.

Emergency workers cordoned off large sections of the area as they searched for any possible survivors and tried to fight the fire caused by the crash.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said it was too early to rule out terrorism.

But he said the US Government had received no credible threats prior to the crash.

He went on: ‘‘There was no unusual contact between the cockpit and the tower according to first reports. Our information this moment is that all communications were normal prior to the crash.’’

He said President Bush had expressed his sympathy to Mr Giuliani in a phone call shortly after the crash.

Mr Bush was said to have ‘‘deep concern and sympathy’’ for the families of those in the crash and for the people of New York.

Donald Carty, chairman of American Airlines, said he had ‘‘absolutely no indications’’ about what caused the crash, adding: ‘‘We have moved quickly to help organise the response and to support the investigation.’’

He went on: ‘‘Today’s news comes at a difficult time for the nation, a difficult time for the airline industry and a very difficult time for American Airlines.

‘‘Given the changed world we live in today it will be as important as it ever has been to quickly determine the cause of the accident.

‘‘First and foremost, however, our thoughts and our prayers are with the families of the passengers and the employees of those lost today.’’