Investigators Search for Clues in Caribbean Jet Crash That Killed 189

Amid confusion and conflicting reports, crash experts dug into documents and debris Friday to try to learn why a chartered Boeing 757 crashed into the Atlantic, killing all 189 people aboard.

The Coast Guard called off the search for survivors and bodies late Thursday and focused its attention on collecting pieces of the downed jetliner that crashed moments after takeoff Tuesday about 12 miles from this resort town.

The Dominican civil aviation official who heads the commission investigating the crash denied another Dominican official’s report that search crews had picked up a radio signal from the jet’s flight data recorder, or “black box.”

Maj. Emmanuel Souffront said investigators have identified the area where the plane went down but have not located the black box or any other major piece of wreckage. The flight data recorder is designed to emit a radio signal for up to 30 days after a crash.

Souffront said investigators had examined the plane’s maintenance logs but found no clue to the cause of the crash.

He said several of the Turkish mechanics who last serviced the plane were among the passengers killed in the crash. The wife of a mechanic who stayed behind was also aboard the flight.

“I think that, if you repair something and you are not sure that this is OK, you don’t sit your family inside,” Souffront said.

He said investigators had reviewed transcripts of the pilot’s conversations with air traffic controllers in Puerto Plata and Santo Domingo. He confirmed that the pilot, whose last recorded words were “Stand by,” did not inform air controllers of any problem with the plane.

Controllers saw the plane make a sharp right turn just before it disappeared from the radar screen, a possible indication the pilot had tried to turn back, Souffront said.