Crew knew about fire before ValuJet crash

Voice recorder reveals warning of fire in passenger cabin

May 27, 1996
Web posted at: 5:30 p.m. EDT

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Conversation recorded in the cockpit of ValuJet Flight 592 six minutes after takeoff indicates there was fire in the passenger cabin, and passengers were having difficulty obtaining oxygen, a top federal official said Monday.

The cockpit voice recorder was retrieved Sunday from the Everglades near Miami where the DC-9 crashed May 11, killing all 110 people aboard.

Robert Francis, vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said the tape is in good condition, despite damage to the recorder's protective case. But, Francis said, the sound on the tape is "very, very difficult to decipher."

Six minutes after the flight took off, said Francis, "It appears that the cockpit door opened." Someone apparently told the cockpit crew there was a fire in the passenger cabin, he said. "There was also an indication from the cabin that there were problems obtaining oxygen," he added. There was no evidence of fire in the cockpit, he said. (466K AIFF or WAV sound)

"The tape contained approximately 30 minutes of data. That's normal for this recorder," Francis said. The recording begins well before the flight. During the flight's first six minutes, "the aircraft was apparently in a routine situation" with no verbal indication of any problem, said Francis.

Francis said experts have not yet determined how much longer the voice recording continues after the apparent opening of the cockpit door. He said he could not give a fuller description of the tape's contents, saying that the analysis has just begin.

"Speed is not what's driving us," Francis said. "We want to do this properly and we are going to take our time and make sure we do it accurately and professionally." (253K AIFF or WAV sound)

Francis said experts have assembled in Washington to study the contents of the cockpit voice recorder tapes. He indicated their initial analysis may take several days. A final transcript of the recording will not be made public for months.

"This group that has been constituted and is now at work are charged with an enormously sophisticated and complicated and time-consuming task," Francis said.

Related stories:

• Searchers recover ValuJet cockpit voice recorder - May 26, 1996
• Stronger evidence points to possible fire aboard ValuJet - May 26, 1996
• A new theory: burned steering cables - May 26, 1996
• Investigators identify 8 ValuJet crash victims - May 25, 1996

Related sites:

• Federal Aviation Administration
• ValuJet home page

Related newsgroups:

• alt.disasters.aviation
• rec.travel.air

(Certain newsgroups may not be available on your news server)

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