The National Transportation Safety Board dispatched a full Go Team on Monday, November 12, 2001 to the site of the crash that day of American Airlines flight 587, an Airbus A-300, N14053, which had just taken off from Kennedy International Airport in New York for the Dominican Republic. The airliner crashed into a neighborhood in Belle Harbor, New York. The engines and some tail components were found some distance from the main wreckage site. Both the pit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR) were recovered. The Safety Board dispatched approximately 40 personnel to the scene, working under the direction of Investigator-in-Charge Robert Benzon. Among the investigative groups that comprise the NTSB team are Operations, Witnesses, Structures, Power Plants, Systems, Air Traffic Control, Weather, Aircraft Performance, pit Voice Recorder and Flight Data Recorder.
Parties to the investigation are the Federal Aviation Administration, American Airlines, General Electric Engines, Allied Pilots Association, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants. In addition, as the aircraft was manufactured in France, the Safety Board's counterpart agency, the Bureau Enquêtes Accidents, is the Accredited Representative to the investigation under the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organization. Airbus Industries is an advisor to the BEA.