Wreckage of the American Airlines Flight 587

Flight 587 heads for the Dominican Republic when it loses an engine and nosedives into a suburb of Rockaway in Queens - a residential district that had already lost many in the attacks of 11 September. It happens just four minutes after take off.

 The BBC's James Robbins reports.

Sorrow in New York and Dominican Republic

Relatives of the dead were grief stricken at the news

There are desperate scenes at the airport in the Dominican Republic among relatives who expect to greet loved ones off the plane. Dozens cram into a lounge in Santo Domingo's Las Americas International Airport while airline officials try to calm them.

 The BBC's Simon Montague reports

Rudolph Giuliani witnesses another tragedy for New Yorkers

New York's mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, is quickly at the scene and expresses his sorrow for New York's residents at the centre of a second aviation tragedy in as many months. He says fighter planes are flying over the skies of the city and tunnels and bridges have been closed.

 New York Mayor Ruddy Giuliani

Crash cause theories

'Wake turbulence' may have caused the tragedy

15 November: Investigators say turbulence caused by another plane may have brought down Flight 587. Flights are normally two minutes apart, but it is thought the A300 Airbus took off only one minute and 45 seconds after a Japan Airlines jumbo jet.

 The BBC's Nick Higham reports

14 November: The cockpit voice recorder shows there were problems less than two minutes after take-off from Kennedy airport. It reveals the pilots heard a rattling sound just before the crash. The FBI say they are not ruling anything out, but they believe it was an accident.

 The BBC's Emma Simpson reports

The pilot's nosedive averted a worse disaster

13 November: Air accident investigators listen to the final conversations from the cockpit of the plane. They say there appeared to be no unidentified voices on the tape - and they heard nothing to indicate a terrorist attack. There is now a real hunger for answers in Queens.

 The BBC's James Robbins reports

The number of victims on the ground was not immediately clear

13 November: Early investigations suggest the New York jet crash was mechanical failure, as emergency workers recover bodies from the wreckage.

 The BBC's David Willis reports

A large section of the tailpiece is lifted out of the water

12 November: America's Transportation Safety Board says all information suggests the crash was an accident, but its investigators are in contact with the FBI. Flight 587's take-off had been delayed for an hour for maintenance checks.

 The BBC's Fergus Walsh examines the safety record of the Airbus 300

Ari Fleisher: "I want to be very cautious about any conclusions"

12 November: White House spokesman Ari Fleischer says the plane's pilots gave no unusual communications before the crash, neither had authorities received any credible threats. He urges caution in speculating what may have caused it.

 White House news conference