[Carol Lin, Cnn Anchor:] Investigators looking into the crash of a chartered plane in Pennsylvania are already at a disadvantage. Several key pieces of evidence are said to be either in poor condition or nonexistent. CNN's Carl Rochelle reports on the problems.
[Carl Rochelle, Cnn Correspondent:] Sources close to the investigation of the charter plane crash say, a preliminary transcript of conversations between the crew and air traffic controllers indicates the crew of the plane first declared an emergency as they were turning on to course for a second approach to the Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania airport. Moments later, the crew reported they had lost one engine, then about a minute later, loss of the second engine. The left engine came back on line but only briefly. Controllers tried to direct the plane to the final approach course, but the sources say, it continued turning to the right. NTSB officials indicated controllers were offering help to the stricken plane.
[Unidentified Male:] Indeed, they did try to be helpful to the crew during their last minutes.
[Rochelle:] Sources say that help included pointing out highways, including part of the Pennsylvania Turnpike that could be used for an emergency landing. But when the crew asked about their altitude, controllers couldn't help much because the plane was already so low that the radar signal was spotty. Investigators believed the crash occurred about four minutes after the emergency was declared. The investigation is begin hampered by the lack of any information on the cockpit voice recorder, which was found to be blank.
[Unidentified Male:] We have no data recorder, and we also do not have the voice recorder, which might of explained to us some to the conversations between the crew during this last part of the flight that would have helped us in understanding what happened here.
[Rochelle:] The plane was not equipped with a flight data recorder. Officials said that cockpit voice recorder didn't work, apparently, because it was receiving the wrong voltage. Investigators must now rely on secondary information such as radar data and witnesses to the crash. Investigators are going to try to go in this morning and retrieve the two engines from the crash site. They're looking at that. They're looking at fuel. They are looking at whether there is a mechanical problem that caused the engines to shut off. Those are the things they're concentrating on. But the lack of clear data from the cockpit voice recorder and the lack of a flight data recorder altogether means that this is going to be an incredibly tough problem to solve. I'm Carl Rochelle, CNN, reporting live from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
[Lin:] Carl, thank you.