Grove Planted for Crash Victims

A bell tolled Saturday for each of the 265 people killed one year ago in the crash of American Airlines Flight 587, which plunged into a residential area just after taking off for the Dominican Republic.

Each victim’s name was read at a hilltop service in the Astoria Park section of Queens, where a memorial grove of trees was planted.

“Today is a day of healing. This grove is symbolic of life,” said Randy Daniels, New York’s secretary of state.

About 200 people attended the ceremony in the park under the Hell Gate Bridge, which spans the East River.

Families lined up to take turns shoveling earth into the hole surrounding one tree.

A companion grove was to be planted at Bani in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday, the anniversary of the crash.

“It’s hard to even think we’re here, because the pain is still so great,” said Yesenia Rivera, 31, whose mother and two aunts died on the flight.

She walked away weeping, clutching a large color photo of the three women, who were headed for a vacation in the Dominican Republic.

The Airbus A300-600, en route from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Santo Domingo, crashed 103 seconds after takeoff, killing 265 people.

The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the cause. Evidence presented at an NTSB hearing a week ago in Washington suggests the co-pilot moved the rudder back and forth before it swerved violently and the plane’s tail fin broke off. The reason for the maneuver has not been determined.