An Atlas Air cargo plane crashed near Houston, killing three people, appears to have affected turbulence



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By Associated press

DALLAS – A Boeing 767 seems to have been rocked by turbulence for a minute before falling into a fast descent and collapsing into a Texas bay in February, killing all three people on board.

The National Transportation Safety Board says "small vertical accelerations" suggest that Atlas Air Flight 3591 entered the turbulence shortly after the pilots' descent to avoid precipitation when approaching an airport from Houston.

A few seconds after leveling about 6,200 feet, the cargo aircraft engines reached a "maximum thrust" and he briefly cocked his nose at 4 degrees upward, according to flight data. The jet then quickly swung to 49 degrees and began its fall towards the muddy bay.

The NTSB does not give the reason for this abrupt change of pace, but indicates that the aircraft's handle stick, which warns of an impending engine block, has not activated. This means that it is unlikely that pilots will point the nose to avoid stalling.

The federal agency said previously, according to the cockpit audio, that the pilots would have lost control by flying over Trinity Bay, about 40 miles east of George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

When the plane dropped, says the agency, it accelerated to 495 mph and gradually descended to a descent of 20 degrees.

The plane, which was carrying cargo from Miami to Amazon and the US Postal Service, was disintegrated during the impact with the shallow bay.

According to the NTSB, investigators found one of the aircraft engines and the landing gear to the west of the main debris field, which extends over more than 350 meters from the marsh area.

Tidal waters carried some parts of the plane and much of its cargo south, and wrecks were found 20 miles from the scene of the accident.

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