JET CRASH SEARCHERS EXPECT RAIN : NATURE CONTROLS PACE OF PAINSTAKING PROBE.Byline: Will Lester Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. A week after ValuJet Flight 592 nose-dived into the Florida Everglades, searchers who have found only 10 percent of the plane braced themselves for summer rains that would make the recovery even slower. Saturday's search for parts of the plane, which killed all 110 people aboard when it disappeared into a swamp, was a reminder that finishing the job at the toughest plane recovery site in memory was going to take patience. ``Everybody understands this is going to be a protracted pro·tract tr.v. pro·tract·ed, pro·tract·ing, pro·tracts 1. To draw out or lengthen in time; prolong: disputants who needlessly protracted the negotiations. 2. mission,'' said Metro Dade Sgt. Bill Garrison. ``They know not to get their feelings tangled up in this. You can't leave your emotions hanging out there.'' The Everglades' unpredictable summer storms, which are beginning to churn in the west, are dictating the pace. ``This work is extremely exhausting,'' said Lt. Linda O'Brien, Metro Dade police spokeswoman. ``The heat is the biggest problem and weather is starting to be a hindrance hin·drance n. 1. a. The act of hindering. b. The condition of being hindered. 2. One that hinders; an impediment. See Synonyms at obstacle. . ``These guys have taken on a really difficult task like no other search scene we've ever experienced,'' O'Brien said. National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Mike Benson conceded that investigators' plans were at the whim of nature. ``We understand some weather is moving in next week and that could slow things down,'' he said. Benson said divers would go into the crater as soon as their special biohazard suits arrive, but he couldn't say when. And he expected the new radar that will be tested in the muddy waters within the next day or two will help find the critical voice recorder A digital, handheld device that is used to record short reminders. Very lightweight and typically using AAA batteries, such devices use flash memory to hold up to 100 messages and more. Messages can be retrieved sequentially or by direct access by message number. See microcassette. . The only things searchers could count on were the heat - in the high 80s - and the promise of more work - usually 12 to 14 hours a day. They come each day to the little makeshift town on a levee levee (lĕv`ē) [Fr.,=raised], embankment built along a river to prevent flooding by high water. Levees are the oldest and the most extensively used method of flood control. next to the L-67 canal, which cuts a ribbon north through the jigsaw puzzle of sawgrass Sawgrass can be:
Seen from a helicopter, the crash site was hardly visible Saturday except for the presence of 10 searchers, one large airboat air·boat n. See swamp boat. with a covered blue tarp and two smaller airboats. The workers in white suits with chest-high waders, surgical masks and goggles goggles, n the protective eyewear worn by dental personnel and patients during dental procedures. goggles see periocular leukotrichia. , wade shoulder-to-shoulder through knee-deep water and chest-high grass for 30 to 40 minutes at a time. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Metro-Dade Search Team members wear hazard gear Satu rday while seeking more evidence from the ValuJet crash. Associated Press |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion