For Release: April 22, 2002

Bill Uher
(757) 864-3189, (757) 344-6811 (mobile)
w.c.uher@larc.nasa.gov

RELEASE NO. 02-028

NTSB CHAIR TO VISIT NASA LANGLEY
First media access to flight 587 tail investigation area

NTSB chairman Marion Blakey will visit NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., May 3, to participate in a press briefing and allow access to the restricted area where the tail of American Airlines’ Flight 587 is being examined. This is the first time the media will be allowed to see the tail since its shipment to NASA’s Hampton facility last December.

The press conference will begin at 10:30 a.m., in NASA Langley’s Reid Conference Center, during which Chairman Blakey will summarize the tail investigation to date. She will be joined by Dr. Mark Shuart, Director for Structures and Materials at NASA Langley who will give an overview of Langley’s composite research. Following the press conference, the news media will be admitted (in shifts) to the examination area for photography. Please note: Due to space limitations, no interviews will be conducted in the examination area.

Media Opportunity:
Members of the media will be allowed access (in shifts) to the tail assembly in the restricted examination area immediately following the 10:30 a.m. press conference at NASA Langley Research Center’s Reid Conference Center. To arrange for credentials and access, interested parties should contact Bill Uher in NASA Langley’s Office of Public Affairs at (757) 864-3189.

American Airlines Flight 587 crashed, Nov. 12, 2001, seconds after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, killing all 260 persons aboard and five on the ground. The tail assembly was sent to Langley Research Center for evaluation. Langley Research Center is NASA’s Center of Excellence for structures and materials.

text-only version of this release