...............Columbia Airlines Flight 609
                                              48.57 LT   13.45 LN

 
    The  night sky was heavy above New York and snow was  falling 
over LaGuardia Airport.  Columbia Airlines Flight 609, bound  for 
London,  sat  on the runway awaiting clearance.   The  passengers 
were  restless.  The flight had been delayed 45 minutes and  many 
wondered  if it would be cancelled.  The possibility was  strong; 
already there had been over 60 no-shows and the plane was  eerily 
empty.
 
    Finally, Captain Paul Nolan received word that the runway was 
clear.   Moving  the Boeing 747 into position, he lifted  off  at 
12:05 a.m., Eastern Time.
 
    Two  hours later, the tower at LaGuardia received  a  message 
from  Flight  609  reporting  heavy  turbulence  followed  by  an 
intermittent  electrical  problem.   One of  the  passengers  had 
struck her head and was being cared for by the stewardesses,  but 
her  injury  was minor and the electrical problem seemed  to  fix 
itself.  They would continue.
 
    Midway over the Atlantic, Captain Nolan notified the tower at 
Dublin,  Ireland  that they had entered an electrical  storm  and 
that their weather advisory system had failed to warned them.  At 
that  point  he decided to take manual control of  the  aircraft.  
The  towers  at Dublin and LaGuardia  maintained  constant  radio 
contact.
 
    An  hour from Ireland, Nolan radioed again:  "We have a  loss 
of control response. . .losing altitude. . ."
 
    Two  minutes  later  Flight 609 disappeared  from  the  radar 
screens.
 
-- -- --
 
    Search   and  rescue  planes  were  dispatched   immediately, 
recovering  sixty-four  survivors.  Debris around the  crash  was 
extensive, and the Beoing 747 was located quickly lying under 600 
feet  of water. To determine the cause of the crash,  the  flight 
recorder,  or  "black  box", must be retrieved.   Look  for  this 
object in the debris around the plane.
 
    The  tragedy of Flight 609 was enormous, with a loss of  over 
one hundred lives.  Finding the black box will be tough, but  the 
reason for the crash must be learned.  Many are counting on you.
