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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 2000)
4 ■ ■ I . } ..__I Rod Rolle/Newsmakers SUZ1E PECH-TORRES of Oxnard, Cali., stands at a momorial for the crash victims of flight 261 in Point Hueneme on Wednesday. Two pieces of Alaskan plane found POftT HUENEME, Calif. (AP) - Searchers found the intact tail of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 and recov ered the flight data recorder Thursday, two pieces key to determining why the jetliner plummeted into the ocean. Underwater robots exploring the ocean floor found where the wreckage came to rest after the MD-83 crashed Monday, killing all 88 aboard. A submersible sent up video images of a piece of the ' fuselage with four windows, several large pieces up to six feet wide and numerous smaller pieces. The airline’s. logo - the smiling face of an Alaskan Eskimo - is clear ly visible on the tail, said John Hammerschmidt, a mem ber of the National Transportation Safety Board. Hammerschmidt declined to say whether searchers had found any bodies, some of which are believed trapped unaer me aeons. Navy crews had earlier salvaged the cockpit voice recorder from about 640 feet of water. The flight data recorder recovered Thursday about 200 feet away would show the positions of the plane’s controls and whether a problem with the horizontal stabilizer on the tail was merely a symptom of a larger failure that led to Monthly’s crash. “That will tell the tale,” said William Waldock, asso ciate director for the Center for Aerospace Safety Education at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The discovery came as friends and relatives of the crash victims gathered along the beach facing the Santa Barbara Channel for a private memorial. A few mourners roamed the shore alone, some clus tered in small groups and others waded a few feet into the ocean. The group gathered inside the Point Mugu Naval Air Weapons Station, and reporters were kept out of the compound. From the beginning, the investigation has focused on the horizontal stabilizer because ^ie pilots had reported problems with it. On Thursday, Hammerschmidt detailed interviews with Alaska mechanics, who described helping the pilots troubleshoot a “runaway stabilize^'W'hich forced the plane’s nose down. At one point, the pilots asked if there were any hid den circuit breakers for the stabilizer’s electrical con trols. That suggests they already had shut off one set of circuit breakers - a standard remedy for a runaway stabi lizer, also known as runaway trim. Avalanches strike Alaska ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The worst avalanches to hit Alaska in decades have closed the only high way linking the Kenai Peninsula with Anchorage and the rest of the state, leaving thousands of residents and travelers stranded for a fourth day. “This is the worst we’ve had since the ‘70s for sure and probably before that,” said Chris Kepler, a maintenance chief for the state. “We have rain and snow. We have all the ingredients for perfect avalanches .” Residents of the Renai Peninsula were warned Thursday not to expect relief anytime soon. Kepler did not know when the highway would reopen. About 2,000 people were with out power, and Chugach Electric officials said it could be seven days or more before electricity is restored. , The avalanches have cut off all traffic and left a number of tiny com munities on the Renai Peninsula, a *i*icr AT? irn Partly cloudy Partly cloudy • high 36, low 21 high 42, low 22 rugged, triangle-shaped land mass that juts into the Gulf of Alaska, even more isolated than usual. The 127 mile Seward Highway is the only road between the peninsula and Anchorage. Though Kenai Peninsula resi dents live about 40 miles south of Anchorage, they still count on being able to drive there to run errands such as buying groceries, and in some cases go to work, during the winter. Gov. Tony Knowles will seek federal disaster assistance, spokesman Bob King said. A railroad worker was killed by an avalanche Tuesday. Kerry Brookman, 53, was operating a bull dozer to clear tracks next to die high way when a slide swept him and the bulldozer 500 feet. Net>raskan - Questions? Comments? Ask for the appropriate section editor at (402) 472-2588 ore-maildnOunl.edu. ugl - . , i i m Editor: Josh Funk Managing Editor: Lindsay Young Associate News Editor: Diane Broderick Associate News Editor: Dane Stickney Opinion Editor: J.J. Harder Sports Editor: Sam McKewon A&E Editor: Sarah Baker Copy Desk Co-Chief: Jen Walker Copy Desk Co-Chief: Josh Krauter Photo Chief: Mike Warren Design Co-Chief: Tun Karstens * Design Co-Chief: Diane Broderick Art Director: Melanie Falk Web Editor: Gregg Steams Asst Web Editor: Jewel Mlnarik General Manager: Daniel Shattil Publications Board Jessica Hofmann, Chairwoman: (402)477-0527 Professional Adviser: Don Walton, (402)473-7248 Advertising Manager: Nick Partsch, (402)472-2589 Asst Ad Manager: Jamie Yeager Classifieid Ad Manager Nichole Lake Supporters of Bush not happy WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican strategists, elected officials, fund-raisers and other backers of George W. Bush are nervously sifting through his stun ning defeat in New Hampshire and demanding a change in tactics from their troubled front-runner. The GOP establishment, heav ily invested in the Texas gover nor’s success, has a case of the jit ters. “You’ve got to believe it is hard to get through to the ‘202’ exchange today because the lines are buzzing about this in^ Washington,” said Nelson Warfield, former press secretary for 1996 nominee Bob Dole. “I’m bleeding for the guy right now,” said Rich Bond, who was an operative for the candidate’s father, former President Bush. With McCain passing up Delaware’s primary next week, South Carolina’s Feb. 19 contest has become critical for both men. Bush’s lead in state polls evaporat ed overnight with die news of his New Hampshire finish, according to two sets of South Carolina sur veys released Thursday. “The prop-wash of defeat is going to be around for a while,” Bush told reporters Thursday. ■ Washington Bauer to drop out of GOP race WASHINGTON (AP) - Gary Bauer, the janitor’s son who served in Ronald Reagan’s White House and mounted a presidential bid of his own, has decided to drop out of the race, a source close to the conserva tive activist said Thursday. The official, speaking on condi tion of anonymity, said Bauer plans to announce the move at a news con ference this morning. Bauer is a well-established social conservative who fared well in pres idential debates, needling front-run ner George W. Bush on abortion and China policy. However, Bauer had trouble carving out a constituency in a crowded field of GOP conserva tives. He could not climb above 1 per cent in the critical New Hampshire primary. . v, ■ Washington NASA ready to help station WASHINGTON (AP) - NASA administrator Daniel Goldin said the United States will launch its own service module to the International Space Station late this year if Russia fails to put up a module by this sum mer. Goldin, in an interview with journalists Thursday, said he hopes the Russians, who are more than a year behind schedule, will complete and launch a service module to the space station by July. But if they fail, he said, the U.S. will be ready. The Russian part of the space station initially fell behind schedule because the government failed to provide the funds to meet the com mitment. The effort was further delayed recently by two failures of Proton rockets, the launcher the Russians will use to put the modules in orbit. ■ Michigan " Ford offers workers computers DETROIT (AP) - For $5 a month, Ford Motor Co. will offer all of its 350,000 workers worldwide a home computer, color printer and Internet access. The offer, available beginning in April, is one of the largest efforts by a company to equip its workers with computers and might ratchet up pressure on Ford’s competitors to match the offer. The deal, coordinated by PeoplePC Inc., of San Francisco, requires monthly payments of $5 for three years, or $ 180 total. ■ Spain Shop floor hills during sale MADRID, Spain (AP) - The floor collapsed under a crush of bar gain hunters Thursday in a store in southern Spain, sending dozens of shoppers and piles of debris plung ing into the basement. At least 161 people were injured. The collapse came as several hundred people jammed around a cash register to buy one of 36 arm chairs on sale for $17.65, down from the stated regular price of $229. The Muebles Peralta furniture store in the town of Dos Hermanns, on the outskirts of Seville, had opened at 10 a.m. for the sale. The floor collapsed about five minutes later. At least 13 people were in seri ous condition, and 138 were hospi talized for less severe injuries, said Zacarias Cotan, a police spokesman in Seville. A 20-year-old woman had to have her/crushed spleen and left kidney removed, while a pregnant woman suffered a broken pelvis.