An American Airlines Airbus A300 airliner, carrying 246 passengers, has crashed into a residential area of New York.
The plane reportedly crashed shortly after taking off from JFK airport, coming down in the Queens district.
Officials claim there is no evidence of terrorism and that the likely cause of the crash was engine failure.
Fighter jets have been patrolling the skies over New York since the September 11 attacks, with orders to shoot down any hijacked planes, but no mayday calls were received by Air Force pilots or air-traffic controllers.
All airports in New York have been closed as a precaution, along with bridges and tunnels in the region but the Federal Aviation Authority has ruled out any terrorist involvement.
See tomorrow's Echo for details....
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