10 MORE OXYGEN CANISTERS FOUND IN VALUJET RUBBLE.

Byline: Ken Kaye Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

Bolstering suspicion that a furnace-hot in-flight fire doomed ValuJet Flight 592, authorities found 10 more oxygen generators at the crash site on Sunday, most of them heat damaged.

About six oxygen canisters had been found previously around the crash crater, in the Everglades northwest of Miami. Some, but not all of those were also fire damaged, said Peter Goelz, director of governmental affairs for the National Transportation Safety Board.

In all, 144 oxygen generators had been stowed in the DC-9 jetliner's forward cargo hold, 119 of them charged with volatile chemicals.

With Sunday's find, investigators have all but confirmed the plane's forward cargo hold, which also contained inflated tires, mail and some baggage, nurtured a raging fire.

But Goelz said it is still unknown if the canisters ignited the fire or fed it. He also said investigators still don't know positively if the fire started in the lower cargo bays or in the cabin, possibly from electrical problems.

``All we know is that we want to find as many generators as possible,'' he said. ``We're doing a search pattern, going foot by foot.''

In normal use, oxygen generators are installed over each row of passenger seats to provide emergency oxygen. Those on the ValuJet plane were being transported as hazardous materials from Miami to Atlanta to be recharged.

ValuJet Flight 592 crashed shortly after taking off from Miami International Airport on May 11, killing all 110 on board. Investigators know from the cockpit voice recorder that a fire erupted in the cabin and that the pilots were battling dense smoke.

On Sunday, U.S. Sen. Bob Graham took a two-hour tour of the crash scene by airboat and helicopter. Wearing blue jeans and sneakers, he said he wanted a firsthand understanding of the tragedy.

``This is an extremely hostile environment,'' he said. ``There are a lot of people working under extremely difficult circumstances.''

Graham said he joined about 70 Metro-Dade police and fire personnel, state wildlife workers and federal investigators, who poked the muck with rake-like poles.

Graham said he saw a lot of clothing around the crash area, including a woman's pair of Ann Taylor pants and an Atlanta Falcons T-shirt. Such items are being ignored by searchers, he said.

``They're not even keeping parts of the airplane that don't contribute directly to what happened,'' he said, referring to items such as a food tray, once attached to the back of a passenger seat.

NTSB investigators have set no deadline for stopping the recovery effort, except to say they will continue to work to find a root cause for the accident.

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Photo

Photo: Crews dredge the Everglades seeking clues to the May 11 jet crash.

Associated Press