Airbus Industrie A300B4-605R accident near Belle Harbor, New York, November 12, 2001
On November 12, 2001 at about 2:16 pm local time, a Airbus Industrie A300B4-605R, registered N14053, was destroyed in an accident near Belle Harbor, New York (John F. Kennedy International airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 260 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the in-flight separation of the vertical stabilizer as a result of the loads beyond ultimate design that were created by the first officer's unnecessary and excessive rudder pedal inputs. Contributing to these rudder pedal inputs were characteristics of the Airbus A300-600 rudder system design and elements of the American Airlines Advanced Aircraft Maneuvering Program.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 12, 2001 · about 2:16 pm local time
- Place
- Belle Harbor, New York · John F. Kennedy International · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 260 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Airbus Industrie A300B4-605R · all A300B4-605Rs on the register
- Registration
- N14053 · no longer on the register · serial 420
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm. On November 12, 2001, about 0916:15 eastern standard time, American Airlines flight 587, an Airbus Industrie A300-605R, N14053, crashed into a residential area of Belle Harbor, New York, shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, New York. Flight 587 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight to Las Americas International Airport, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with 2 flight crewmembers, 7 flight attendants, and 251 passengers aboard the airplane. The airplane's vertical stabilizer and rudder separated in flight and were found in Jamaica Bay, about 1 mile north of the main wreckage site. The airplane's engines subsequently separated in flight and were found several blocks north and east of the main wreckage site. All 260 people aboard the airplane and 5 people on the ground were killed, and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire. Flight 587 was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 on an instrument flight rules flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,050 hours in all; 146 in the last 90 days; 52 in the last 30 days; 3,448 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 31, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Flight time: 4,403 hours in all; 1,835 in this make and model; 135 in the last 90 days; 52 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: December 23, 2000
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 37,550 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 353,500 lb
- Seats: 266
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine 1: General Electric CF6 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: General Electric CF6 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: KJFK New York City NY at 2:14 pm
- Destination: KSDQ Santo Domingo
- Flight plan: IFR
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 4,800 ft
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.44 inHg
- Observation at 2:25 pm from JFK
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 9 | |||
| Passengers | 251 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.