WORLD NEWS
Investigators find Alaska Airlines
Flight 261 cockpit voice recorder
by Edwin Garcia,
Brandon Bailey,
Michael Bazeley,
and Frank Sweeney
Knight-Ridder Tribune
February 03, 2000
PORT HUENEME, Calif. Just
hours after the Coast Guard called
off its search for survivors of
Alaska Airlines Flight 261, inves
tigators Wednesday, February 2,
found the cockpit voice recorder
that may hold the key to explain
ing why the jetliner plummeted into
the Pacific, killing all 88 people on
board.
Investigators also said they're
looking into reports that another
crew had trouble with the horizon
tal stabilizer on the same aircraft on
an earlier flight to Puerto Vallarta
on Monday, January 31. Alaska
Airlines has denied that report. But
National Transportation Safety
Board officials said they are pur
suing an array of theories that could
explain the crash of that same air
craft Monday afternoon.
Attention has focused on the pos
sibility of mechanical failure
caused by a jammed horizontal sta
bilizer, which helps pilots control
the plane's climbs and descents.
Two newspapers reported Thurs
day, Feb. 3, however, that investi
gators may also be considering
whether the crew may have inad
vertently caused the accident as
they prepared for an emergency
landing.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, Feb.
2, an American Airlines jet made
an emergency landing in Phoenix
after the pilot reported a possible
problem with its horizontal stabi
lizer.
And relatives of the Alaska Air
lines victims gathered in a Los An
geles hotel, where they prepared to
visit the crash site in a large group
some time last Thursday.
A Coast Guard admiral said it had
been a difficult decision to stop
searching for survivors, but two
days of intensive searching had
convinced officials there was no
hope that anyone on the plane was
still alive.
"We have tried to give every
chance for success at reaching sur
vivors," said Vice Admiral Tom
Collins. "We must proceed to the
next stage of this incident, this trag
edy."
Collins said it was time to begin
focusing on recovering the wreck
age of the plane.
Less than 20 minutes before the
Alaska jetliner plunged into the
ocean, while en route from Puerto
Vallarta to San Francisco and Se
attle, the flight crew had notified air
traffic controllers of a problem with
the stabilizer on their MD-83 air
craft. After struggling with the
problem for several minutes, the
crew received permission for an un
scheduled landing at Los Angeles
International Airport.
Citing unnamed sources, the
Washington Post and Dallas Morn
ing News both said that prepara
tions for emergency landing could
have included changes in control
settings that could change the air
Study says origin of AIDS was 1
by Jeremy Manier
Chicago Tribune
February 02, 2000
SAN FRANCISCO As re
searchers on Tuesday, February
1,2000, officially presented the
details, of a study that pushes
the origin of the AIDS pan
demic back to around 1930,
their results gave new ammuni
tion to an obscure yet often
emotional scientific dispute
over recent claims that the vi
rus first entered humans during
tests of an early oral polio vac
cine derived from primates.
Most HIV experts at the Sev
enth Conference on
Retroviruses and Opportunistic
Infections praised the meticu
lous work that went into the
new date estimate, calculated
by running a massive database
of HIV genetic sequences
through one of the most power
flow over the plane's tail which,
in turn, could have caused a loss of
control or an abrupt stall.
Earlier, the safety board said its
investigators were planning to in
terview a different crew of pilots
who flew that plane on its south
bound journey to Puerto Vallarta
earlier that Monday. The Seattle
Times reported Wednesday, Feb. 2,
that the earlier crew had radioed the
airline's maintenance base in Se
attle to discuss problems they were
having with the stabilizer.
"We don't know if that's true. We
are investigating that," said NTSB
member John Hammerschmidt,
during a midday press conference.
Alaska Airlines denied the report.
"We stand behind our comment
earlier this week that the aircraft
had no history of stabilizer prob-
A memorial to the victims of the crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261
stands on the beach on Feb. 1, 2000, at La Janelle Park in Oxnard,
California. All 88 passengers and crew died when the plane crashed
January 31.
lems," said airline spokesman Greg
Witter. He added that any further
comment would have to come from
the NTSB.
Investigators also were analyzing
a tape recording of a second con
versation, this one between airline
maintenance workers and the crew
that was flying when the plane
crashed.
That crew had also called the Se
attle base for help, as they were
struggling to keep control of their
plane in the final minutes before the
crash.
NTSB Chairman Jim Hall said
the tape of that conversation should
give investigators "a very good un
derstanding of what the pilots were
encountering and what they were
trying to do with the difficulty, the
problems that they had reported to
air traffic control."
"It covers all of their conversations
while they are trying to trouble
shoot this problem," Hall told CNN.
The conversations are apparently
difficult to hear, because the tape
also contains a great deal of back
ground noise. But according to the
Dallas Morning News, which cited
an unnamed source, they were re
porting that the stabilizer wouldn't
respond to their commands.
Officials said the tape had been
sent to a NTSB laboratory in Wash
ington, where experts would be able
to enhance the recording.
In a series of television inter
views Wednesday, Feb. 2, Hall also
gave the first official confirmation
ful supercomputers in the
world.
Researchers from Northwest
ern University contributed to
the study, which is summarized
in the current issue of Science
magazine and was reported by
the Chicago Tribune on Mon
day, Jan. I. Such work may
give crucial insights into HlV's
long-term evolution and future
vaccines for the virus.
Yet some of the world's top
AIDS authorities at the confer
ence were just as interested that
the new date of 1930 seemed to
weaken the controversial thesis,
advanced in a book last year by
British science writer Edward
Hooper, that the virus spread to
humans through accidental con
tamination of an oral polio vac
cine tested in central Africa dur
ing the late 19505.
Many researchers doubt
Hooper's argument, saying it is
that investigators are looking at
whether the stabilizer could have
jammed because of corrosion on the
hinges that join the stabilizer with
the tail of the aircraft. The Federal
Aviation Administration had issued
an air worthiness directive last year,
warning that corrosion could
weaken the hinges.
The FAA had given airlines until
November of 2000 to inspect their
fleets and make any necessary re
pairs. The plane that crashed Mon
day had not yet undergone that in
spection.
"Let me emphasize that we do not
know if this is in anyway related to
the accident sequence, - Flall told
the MSNBC network, "however,
because it is a service bulletin, be
cause it was not completed, we will
be looking very closely at that as
well as all of the other information
we have on the stabilizer."
The horizontal stabilizer is the
distinctive 40-foot wing mounted
high on the tail of all MD-80 jets.
Problems with the stabilizer are
relatively rare, according to FAA
records. Since 1982, there have
been 50 reports of serious mechani
cal problems with the stabilizer, and
its attached elevator flaps, on MD
-80 series aircraft. None involved
Alaska Airlines aircraft. On
Wednesday morning, however, an
American Airlines jet of the same
series made a successful emergency
landing at Phoenix Sky Harbor In
ternational Airport, about 20 min
utes after taking off for Dallas. An
NTSB spokesman said ground me
chanics confirmed the plane's sta
bilizer had jammed.
A few hours later, at the crash site
off the coast of Southern Califor
nia, the Coast Guard acknowledged
what many had suspected earlier—
that after two days of intensive
search efforts, there was no more
chance of finding any survivors.
Officials delayed their announce
ment for several hours on Wednes
day so they could notify the vic
tims' families and explain the de-
cision
"Clearly ... there was an expres
sion of several desires to keep the
search efforts going," Collins said.
But he added, "I was very frank
with them.
It's always difficult to call off a
search for survivors, he explained.
930, disputing other recent claims
more plausible that HIV spread
from chimpanzees to people
who hunted the animals for
food. Moreover, they say, the
polio vaccine theory could have
a destructive effect, especially
in Africa where some people
have a distrust of Western re
searchers and may draw the in
correct conclusion that polio
vaccines are dangerous.
One conference attendee with
a personal stake in the debate
is Dr. Stanley Plotkin, a profes
sor emeritus of immunology at
the University of Pennsylvania.
In the 1950 s Plotkin was a re
search fellow at the Philadel
phia-based Wistar Institute,
which conducted the African
polio vaccine tests.
Plotkin said Tuesday, Feb. 'l,
that he believes the new esti
mate gives fresh evidence that
HIV entered people decades
before the vaccine tests took
"It's not a decision you look for
ward to making. But it was the cor-
rect decision."
The search for survivors ended 41
hours after the jet crashed into the
cold waters of Santa Barbara Chan
nel, about six miles off the Ventura
County COast. Dozens of specially
equipped military boats, helicop
ters, and airplanes had scoured an
area of 1,100 square miles along
with a number of volunteer fishing
boats but they found only the
remains of four victims.
As the effort shifted to a salvage
operation, the first steps on
Wednesday involved deployment
of three ROVs remotely oper
ated vehicles, or unmanned robots
that can he sent underwater to vid
eotape the wreckage while under
the control of operators on the sur
face.
Officials said their first priority
was locating the flight recorders.
Experts have said these should give
investigators a good idea of
whether mechanical failure caused
the crash, since the flight crew had
been struggling with mechanical
problems for at least 11 minutes be
fore the plane went down.
The voice recorder, which was re
covered by one of the ROVs late
Wednesday afternoon, should con
tain actual cockpit conversations
between the two pilots as they were
fighting to save the aircraft. It was
lifted on hoard the Kellie ,Schouest,
a privately owned salvage ship that
works on contract with the Navy.
The second recording device,
which investigators are still hoping
to locate, contains a variety of data
about the plane's speed, altitude,
and the recent operating history of
various mechanical and electronic
systems.
Separate investigative teams are
also studying the maintenance his
tory of the MD-83 aircraft and ana
lyzing radar data from both the Fed
eral Aviation Administration and
the Air Force. In addition, they are
interviewing pilots of four other air
planes that were flying in the area
and may have witnessed the crash.
Meanwhile, more than 100 rela
tives of people who were on the
doomed flight had gathered
Wednesday, Feb. 2, at the Renais
sance Hotel in Los Angeles, where
the Red Cross was operating a
counseling and assistance center in
conjunction with the airline.
Many of those who had arrived
at the hotel remained in a state of
shock, said Chris Thomas, a Red
Cross volunteer.
"I just want to know that our fam
ily members didn't suffer and that
it was just fast," said Janis Ost Ford,
whose brother Bob Ost was on
board the plane. Officials planned
to take family members to the coast
near the crash site Thursday, Feb.
3. A memorial service was to be
arranged later last week.
"They will be able to deal with
the emotional responses; they'll be
able to see the search-and-rescue
recovery process," Thomas said.
Mercury News staff writer Rodney
Foo and wire services contributed
to this report.
"I am more than ever con
vinced that the book is com
pletely wrong," Plotkin said, re
ferring to Hooper's book, The
River: A Journey to the Source
of HIV and AIDS.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of
the National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases, said
Tuesday, Feb. 1, that the new
estimate of HlV's origins dam
ages the argument that HIV
came from a polio vaccine.
"It's important because of all
the publicity The River is get
ting," Fauci said.
The lead author of Tuesday's
study, Bette Korber of the Los
Alamos National Laboratory in
New Mexico, took a relatively
balanced view in assessing the
significance of her work.
"My work doesn't disprove
Hooper," Korber said. "It just
makes [his thesis] less likely."
FEBRUARY 11, 2000, THE BEHREND BEACON, PAGE 5
First lady declares
candidacy for U.S.
by Susan Feeney
Knight-Ridder Tribune
February 07, 2000
PURCHASE, N.Y. First lady
Hillary Rodham Clinton. telling
New Yorkers that she may he new
to the neighborhood hut "not new
to your concerns," made history
Sunday by formally declaring her
candidacy for the U.S. Senate from
New York.
Appearing before a giant
"Hillary" banner with President
Clinton and daughter Chelsea.
Clinton told an adoring crowd, "1
care about the same issues you do.
I understand them, and I know how
to make progress on them. That's
why, my friends, I want to he your
senator."
Her announcement made Clinton,
an Illinois native who has never
held public office, the first Presiden
tial spouse ever to run for office.
After almost a year of rocky pre
liminary campaigning, she is in a
virtual dead heat with her likely op
ponent, Republican New York
Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
"She's trying to reintroduce her
self and take a second try to make a
first impression," said Lee
Miringoff, a poll taker at the Marist
Institute in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
The famously verbose President
said not a word Sunday, so the spot
light could shine on his wife. He
instead sat behind the first lady,
clapping and nodding with spousal
approval. As a part of that effort,
Cabinet officials in the audience
were not acknowledged, while vir
tually every state and local law
maker in attendance was.
New York Sen. Daniel Patrick
Moynihan, who is retiring from the
Senate, said during his introduction
of Clinton that he also knew former
first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who
is Clinton's idol and role model.
"Hillary, Eleanor Roosevelt
would love you," he said.
Clinton, seeking to reassure New
Yorkers and to answer critics who
have questioned her candidacy in
New York, said: "Some people may
ask why I'm doing this here and
now. That's a fair question," she
said. "I may be new to your neigh
borhood, but I am not new to your
concerns."
She suggested she is a centrist
Democrat who has been fighting for
issues such as education, children,
health care, gun control, and women
since long before her husband was
elected President. "I'll be on your
side," she said again and again.
Miringoff, the poll taker, said the
number of New Yorkers bothered by
the first lady's outsider status
dipped below 50 percent for the first
time in his most recent survey.
Howard Wolfson, Clinton's press
secretary, predicted that concern
would continue to decline as the
first lady campaigns more in the
state.
But Bruce Teitelbaum, Giuliani's
campaign manager, said that, given
what Teitelbaum called the mayor's
strong record of rejuvenating New
York City, Clinton's candidacy "is
going to be a
tough sell."
Referring to
what is expected
to be a fierce race
and probably
the most expen
sive in U.S. Sen-
First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton outside the
White House on Dec. 2, 1999.
ate history
Clinton said, "I
know it's not go
ing to be an easy
campaign. But
hey, this is New
York."
Clinton and her
advisers sought,
through her
speech and a bio
graphical video
on Sunday, to re
make and soften
her sometimes
controversial
public image
"I make a mean
tossed salad and a
great omelet,"
Clinton said at
one point in the
video crafted by
Hollywood pro
ducer Linda
Bloodworth-
Thomason.
Senate
The film focused on Clinton's
childhood and career hut played
lightly on the last seven years. It
also, for the first time, drew con
siderable attention to first daughter
Chelsea, whom the Clintons had
kept out of the political spotlight.
Saturday night, the Clintons at
tended a potluck supper in their
honor in their new neighborhood of
Chappaqua, N.Y. The campaign let
it be known that Clinton walked in
carrying a chicken casserole.
She told the Nen . York Turns in
an interview that, on her "listening
tour" of the state, she learned that
voters have a caricature image of
her.
- What I have found is that people
don't know anything really about
the work that I did before Bill was
elected President. And 'they] know
very little except about health
care about the work that I've
done in the White House," she said.
Clinton, w h o led the
administration's failed health over
haul in 1993, said, "It became so ap
parent to me that in order to intro
duce myself to the voters of New
York, I was going to have to go hack
and really share a lot of my
lifestyle."
There was no mention during the
exuberant kickoff of the scandal
plagued Clinton administration or
how Clinton, while her husband was
governor, once parlayed a $l,OOO
investment into $lOO,OOO on the
cattle futures market.
And there were few doubters
among the invited crowd of some
1,700 supporters who packed the
gymnasium at Purchase College of
the State University of New York,
where the New York Knicks prac
tice. The site is not far from the
Clintons' new home on Old House
Lane in Chappaqua.
But at the White Plains Coach
Restaurant and Diner, in another
nearby suburb, ()pillion about the
race was as passionate and deeply
divided as the public opinion polls
suggc_ , ,l
"Can't stand her," said' 61-al
Phelan, a retired real estate nianager
and registered independent
"I don't care for her principles,"
his wife, Carolyn Phalen, added. "I
don't think she has any."
Suzie Zweig, an office supply
saleswoman and Democrat, praised
Clinton's concern for education and
health care and said it is important
to put more women in the U.S. Sen
ate.
"I don't think it matters where
they're from. Bobby Kennedy also
was not from New York," she said.
Businessman Ray Fernandez said
bluntly he was hacking Clinton be
cause, "1 don't like Giuliani. As far
as I'm concerned, he can drop
dead."
Stock trader Pete Viglucci also
supports the mayor. "He might be
crude hut he's been effective."
Of all the breakfast diners inter
viewed Sunday morning, only Chris
Kamenos, owner of the glass-block
and-neon diner, said he was among
the small slice of New Yorkers who
are undecided.
0 BY HA