
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 28, 1990                   TAG: 9003280095
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

PLANE CRASH TAPE SHOWS PILOT UNCLEAR

The co-pilot of the Avianca airliner that crashed in New York told the pilot he had radioed a fuel emergency but he used less precise language with ground controllers, a transcript of cockpit talk showed Tuesday.

The plane, which apparently ran out of fuel, crashed Jan. 25 at Cove Neck, Long Island, killing 73 of the 159 people aboard, including all three cockpit crew members.

"Tell them we are in emergency," said the Colombian pilot in Spanish just after the plane failed its first landing attempt and 10 minutes before it crashed.

"We're running out of fuel," the co-pilot told controllers in English at 9:24 p.m., after the crew of the Boeing 707 was instructed to abort the attempted landing at John F. Kennedy airport and loop around for another try.

A few seconds later, the pilot again asked the co-pilot to tell the controller there was an emergency. "Digale que estamos en emergencia," the pilot said, also asking whether his order had been carried out.

None of the cockpit crew members was identified by name in the transcript. The flight had come from Bogota and Medellin.

by CNB