Bad Instrument Caused Jet Crash in Caribbean

A faulty instrument misled pilots about the speed of their jetliner moments before it crashed into the sea, killing all 189 people aboard, investigators said Friday.

The problem was discovered during a preliminary analysis of flight data recorders retrieved from the ocean floor, they said.

The plane crashed six minutes after taking off Feb. 6 from the international airport of Puerto Plata, a resort on the north coast of the Dominican Republic.

Civil aviation officials had said readings led the pilots to believe that they had sufficient speed to maintain their altitude of 7,000 feet.

When the plane reached 7,300 feet, the pilot’s steering column began shaking and making a tapping noise, and an alarm went off indicating that the airplane was losing velocity, officials said. The pilots apparently tried to accelerate but were unable to raise the aircraft, which hit the water.