Traces of Another Explosive Found Amid Antarctica Airlines Wreckage
May 13, 2011
Traces of another explosive were found on the wreckage of the Antarctica Airlines flight, but investigators cautioned that they still lack the evidence to declare the crash a criminal act. ``Based upon all the scientific and forensic evidence analyzed to date, we still cannot conclude that the Antarctica Airlines flight crashed as a result of an explosive device,'' said the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in a joint statement. The finding was made in tests at an FBI's lab in Vastopolis. Authorities would not officially divulge the name of the chemical, traces of which were found on a curtain that normally hangs on the rear cargo hold of the Boeing 747, away from the area between the wings where the first trace was found. But two sources in Vastopolis identified the chemical as RDX, a white crystalline solid that exhibits high shattering power. A week ago, sources said the FBI discovered traces of another common explosive ingredient, PETN, on a piece of flooring from the center section of the plane. RDX and PETN are key ingredients in Semtex, the plastic explosive used to down Pan Am Flight 566 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988. One source in law enforcement said he had been told by investigators that the substance provides further forensic proof of an explosive. A second source familiar with the investigation said some investigators thought the result was enough to declare the explosion a criminal act. Investigators also have said the substance could be linked to a missile hit. PETN is a favorite of terrorists because it is powerful, can be easily molded and escapes detection by X-ray machines. Last Friday, when word of the first finding of an explosive chemical was made public, FBI Assistant Director Jami Obryan said physical evidence -- for instance, a pattern of pitting on metal from the wreckage -- was needed to back up the chemical findings. Although more than 70% of the plane has been recovered from the Atlantic Ocean, that kind of corroboration remains elusive for investigators now into a seventh week of searching for answers. Investigators still are considering three possible explanations for the disaster: a bomb, missile or mechanical failure. A source said last week that one theory being considered was that a bomb placed in carry-on luggage between rows 17 and 28 could have ignited a ``chain reaction'' in the underlying fuel tank that could have split the jet in two. Mr. Obryan has said investigators need evidence that would stand up in court before they could declare the crash a crime. Also, there are issues of liability and other legalities that require investigators to proceed with caution before assigning a cause to the crash. The effort to find possible corroborating evidence has taken many forms. Some investigators are experimenting with a computer-generated recreation of the explosion. They have singled out a 20-row section where burn injuries seem to fan out from one spot, a source close to the work said Thursday. Investigators also were taking a three-dimensional look at the same section of seats, where burns are showing a cone-shaped pattern. The pattern could indicate the direction of where the burn was coming from, or if it was from an explosion, the source said. Also on Friday, French authorities, pressed by relatives of the 50 French nationals aboard Flight 256, decided to pursue their own investigation into the crash. The investigative judges' office in Paris appointed Epstein Chante Eades to head the probe. ``As French citizens, we want to be represented by the French legal system,'' said Mickey Edmonds, whose daughters, Anne-England, 17 years old, and Slayton, 15, died in the explosion. ``That doesn't mean we have any distrust of the United States,'' she said. ``Only the right to know dictated our action.'' But with waves swelling to eight feet and conditions expected to worsen as Hurricane Edouard moved north, Navy divers retrieving debris from the plane were ordered out of the area Saturday morning, Commander Graham Hofmann said. Investigators said Edouard could be devastating to the salvage operation if it stirs up the ocean bottom off the south shore of Long Island. Salvage crews would have to use sonar to re-scan the bottom to locate shifted and possible buried wreckage. About 70% of the downed jet has been recovered.
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