Itisasadday.Nothinggrievesmemorethan2tohavetoreporttoyouthatthismorning,anAmericanAirlinesflightwaslostinNewYork.IwillbeleavingforNewYorkimmediatelytoleadtheAmericanAirlinesCareTeamthatisrespondingtotoday’saccident.Ourprimaryconcernwillbetoprovidesupporttothefamiliesofourpassengersandemployeeslosttoday,toallofouremployeesandtothepeopleonthegroundinNY.
Atthistime,wehavenoindicationofwhatcausedtheaccident.Wehavemovedquicklytohelporganizetheresponseandtosupporttheinvestigation.Towardthatend3,IhavealreadybeenintouchwithAndrewCardattheWhiteHouseandwithMayorGuilianiandGovernor4PatakiinNewYork,aswellaswithofficialsinSantoDomingo.
Letmejustprovidesomebasicfactsabouttheflighttoday.ItwasAmericanAirlinesFlight587,anAirbusA3005aircraftenroute6fromNewYorkKennedytoSantoDomingo.TheairplanewaslosttodayshortlyaftertakeofffromKennedyAirport.Thepreliminarypassengerlistindicatedtheaircraftcarried246passengersandacrewofnine.
FamilymemberswishingtoreceiveinformationaboutpassengersmaycontactAmericanAirlinesatourtoll-free7numberat8002450999.
Asyouwouldimagine,today’snewscomesatadifficulttimeforthenation,fortheairlineindustryandforAmericanAirlines.Giventhechangedworldweliveintoday,itwillbeasimportantasithaseverbeentoquicklyandaccuratelydeterminethecauseofthisaccident.Firstandforemost8,however,ourthoughtsandprayersarewiththefamiliesofourpassengersandemployeesofthoselosttoday.IwillbeleavingimmediatelyforNewYork.