Aging Aircraft

The Boeing 747-100 jumbo jet that crashed in New York on Wednesday was delivered in October 1971, making it one of the oldest jumbo jets in commercial service, a spokesman for the aircraft manufacturer said.

The plane was originally delivered to now-defunct Eastern Airlines.

The spokeswoman also said that Boeing had dispatched two safety engineers to assist with the investigation.

Bombing Trial

The jury in the trial of three radical Muslims accused of plotting to bomb 12 U.S. passenger jets was ordered Thursday to disregard news about the fatal explosion aboard the TWA jetliner, which has not been blamed on a terrorist attack. U.S. District Judge Kevin Duffy in New York told jurors that the deadly blast has nothing to do with the trial of Ramzi Ahmed Yousef and two co-defendants, who are also accused in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

Flight Insurance

The downed jumbo jet is insured or $10.7 million, London insurance market sources reported. Liability insurance payouts for passengers could be $2 million to $3 million for each U.S. citizen but amounts could vary widely, depending on nationality and other factors, they said. The minimum payout was likely to be about $300,000. If the cause of the explosion turns out to be a bomb, aircraft insurance will transfer to the so-called war risks insurance market, held mainly by marine underwriters at Lloyds of London.