European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 25, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday. September 25, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 3 workers prepare saturday to lift part of the fuselage of the pass Fri a Jet that Slid into the water wednesday Afler an aborted Takeoff Al be York s a Iguardia Airport. Probes focus on abort Takeoff order by new Day new York Federal investigators saturday focused on whether the Captain of us air flight 5050 made the right Call late wednesday night when he decided to abort Takeoff plunging the plane into the East River but the lawyer for the two pilots said the Accident that killed two people was not the Crew s fault. There was no human error said Frederick Hafetz lawyer for the Captain. Michael Martin and co Pilot Constantine Kleissas. Hafetz suggested that a mechanical problem was at fault. He made his statement the Day after the National transportation safety Board said that proper procedures apparently were not Fol Lowed in the cockpit of the ill fated Boeing 737-400 Jet. Sources close to the investigation said saturday that investigators arc trying to determine the Speed of the aircraft when the abort command was Given. Pilots have about three seconds to decide whether to abort the Takeoff once they reach the so called v-1 velocity Speed. Since the co Pilot was in control of the flight it was the Captain s responsibility to signal that the Al Speed was reached. Investigators say the Al Call out was t made but it is still not Clear if the Al Speed had been reached. The Captain told investigators that he decided to abort because the plane was veering left and he did t think it could be brought Back on course. He added that he thought there was enough runway left to Slop the plane safely. In other developments although the co Pilot disengaged the automatic throttle during Takeoff forcing the Captain to push the throttle Forward manually investigators now appear to discount that incident As a major Factor in the Acci Dent. A source said that it happened too Early in the Takeoff to affect the Crew s performance. Investigators Are still puzzled by Why the plane appeared to veer to the left during Takeoff but they have concentrated on several possible reasons. These include improper steering by the co Pilot a bump or rain Slick in the runway or sudden crosswinds. Investigators also arc trying to determine Why the plane after veering left suddenly straightened itself after the Crew aborted the Takeoff. Preliminary analysis of the controls appears to support the Captain s Contention that he pulled the throttle Back when he aborted the Takeoff. The control Tower also witnessed a sudden Spray of water around the plane indicating that the throttle was thrown in. Reverse. Crew fatigue because of lengthy duty limes also does not appear to be a key Factor. Although the Acci Dent happened late Al night after the Crew experienced several delays because of the weather they were still Well within their duty times when the Accident occurred. Rachel Lla Terman. A spokeswoman for the safety we be ruled nothing out. We frankly at this Point Don t know Why that plane went into the  Rachel Halterman Board said saturday we be ruled nothing out. We frankly at this Point Don t know Why that plane went into the  the Board As a matter of policy almost never issues an opinion about the probable cause of the Accident this Early in an investigation. In a press conference Friday night safety Board investigators described mishaps in the cockpit and re ported that Kleissas who was piloting the plane had never before piloted a Boeing 737 carry ing passengers. The two pilots had worked for Piedmont aviation until Piedmont s merger with us air last month and Kleissas had been hired just three months ago. Investigators said confusion in the cockpit began when the co Pilot inadvertently hit a Button that turned off the plane s automatic throttle similar to a car s cruise control leading the Captain to reach Over and push the throttle himself. The Crew told investigators the plane began to pull to the left As it went Down the Laguardia Airport runway. Despite the reported miscues however Hafetz the pilots lawyer suggested that other evidence such As a vibration that was Felt by some people on Board the plane before the crash could Point to some kind of mechanical problem. He declined to elaborate on what that problem might have been. One experienced Pilot said the vibration could have been caused by a Crosswind at the time of Takeoff. The Pilot also said an out of balance wheel could have contributed to the vibration. The Pilot added that most experienced pilots Dis count the stated Al abort Speed which is figured according to the weight of the aircraft length of runway and other factors. Instead he said they will Only abort at a Speed lower than Al because they think that they can t really Stop in time at Al. In fact one Ziajor Currier last year sent a bulletin to its pilots reminding them that in certain situations they could t expect to slip at v-1. Llafet also took Issue with allegations that the pilots ducked the crash probe by leaving the scene shortly after the Accident. They did stay around. They May in fact have saved some  he said. Survivors of the crash reported that Martin and Kleissas helped in the Rescue efforts. Martin the Captain reported to Nosb investigators that he left the Airport after being brought to Shore by a Rescue boat and went to a nearby Marriott hotel where he called a representative of the air line pilots association. Regarding the pilots absence Haft la said "1 Don t know that they knew anyone wanted to talk to them the next Day. They d been up All night they were  nevertheless the Federal aviation administration Friday took the rare step of suspending both pilots licenses to Fly specifically citing their apparent disappearance. The Nosb also strongly rebuked the pilots. James Kolstad acting head of the Nosb said their failure to immediately consent to blood and urine tests unnecessarily creates an environment of  but Hafetz and pilots Union officials disagree. It s Normal after an Accident As 1 understand it for pilots to get counsel Hafez said. Based on everything 1 know i Don t believe there s any basis for any kind of criminal action. I Don t be Lieve there s any