'Suspected crack' found in another Boeing fuse pin

ONE OF El Al's remaining eight Boeing 747s was discovered to have a crack in a fuse pin, which connects the engine to the wing, after inspections undertaken on the recommendation of Boeing.

The airline yesterday replaced the pin, causing disruption to its schedule during a busy holiday period. The fuse pin was found to have a 'suspected crack' and is being sent to Boeing for examination.

The four pins on each engine, which are 4in long and just over 2in in diameter, are designed to break when the stability of the wing is threatened. But there is concern that their failure may have caused Sunday night's crash in Amsterdam and a similar accident involving a China Airlines 747 freighter in December last year which lost two engines prior to crashing. It was that crash which prompted Boeing to send out a service bulletin on Tuesday asking airlines to check the pins within 90 days.

Searchers last night had still not found the second engine, reported to have fallen off before the aircraft crashed into the Bijlmer estate in southern Amsterdam. They have also failed to find the voice recorder, which would give details of the crew's conversation during the flight.

The number of bodies found at the disaster site rose to 50 during the day but the Amsterdam authorities, who expect to end the search later today, said they did not expect to find any more. Only one has so far been identified and many other bodies are thought to have been completely burnt. The Mayor, Ed van Thijn, was 'cautiously optimistic' that the toll may be lower than the 250 previously feared.

Thirty apartments were destroyed in the crash and a further 50 are to be demolished. Local people have reacted to the arrival of sightseers by putting up posters saying 'No disaster tourism here' in Dutch and English.

Two officials with experience of the Lockerbie disaster arrived yesterday at the request of the Amsterdam authorities. John Orr, Deputy Chief Constable of Dumfries and Galloway, will be advising Dutch police on identification of bodies and other aspects of disaster work. Anthony Busuttil, professor of forensic medicine at Edinburgh University, co- ordinated the 11-strong pathology team at Lockerbie.

(Photograph omitted)