Air Traffic Tapes Yield Few Clues on ValuJet Crash

An air traffic control tape of the final moments of ValuJet Flight 592 released Thursday suggested that Miami air controllers were unaware for several minutes that the plane had crashed but provided no new clues about what may have caused the May 11 accident.

A transcript of radio traffic at the time showed that the air controller continued issuing landing instructions to the ValuJet crew--probably until just after the DC-9 went down--apparently with no response from Flight 592.

The only hint of what might have gone wrong came earlier when the co-pilot of the doomed plane, asking for more details, radioed: “Uh, smoke in the cockpit--smoke in the cabin.” A few minutes before that, he had called the air traffic center to request an immediate landing.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which made the air traffic control tapes public, declined to comment on their contents. But government analysts familiar with the incident said that it is not unusual for such tapes to add little new evidence.

Those familiar with the case said that the tapes are consistent with evidence uncovered by the National Transportation Safety Board, which experts say suggests that oxygen generators in the ValuJet airplane’s hold may have fueled a fire that caused the crash.

Although the transcript begins at 1:59 p.m. EDT, the first time a transmission from the ValuJet flight shows up is at 2:04 p.m., when the crew reports that the plane is leaving the 500-foot altitude level and climbing to 5,000 feet.

The ValuJet flight is identified as “Critter”--a call-sign apparently derived from the airline’s lighthearted logo, which contains a drawing of a smiling airplane. “Critter 592,” the controller orders in response, “climb and maintain 7,000” feet.

At 2:10 p.m., the controller receives the first indication that the ValuJet flight is in trouble: The co-pilot radios, “Uh, 592 needs an immediate return to Miami.”

A minute later, the controller tells the Miami tower that “Critter 592 is comin’ back to Miami--he’s got an emergency,” and the tower acknowledges the message.

Eleven seconds later, the ValuJet crew radios: “[This is] Critter 592. We need the, ah, closest airport available.”

Several exchanges about heading and radio frequencies follow.

The controller, unaware that anything has happened, continues communicating several seconds after the time that the FAA believes Flight 592 crashed.

Finally, the controller orders the crew to land at the nearest airfield--one of two local airports at Opa Locka, Fla., only 15 miles from the airplane’s position.

The tape continues for another four minutes, with no transmissions from--or about--Flight 592.