Jet Explosion Has Officials Considering Tighter Security

Olympic officials awaited details of the fiery explosion of a TWA jumbo jet Wednesday night before considering whether to tighten security at the Summer Games.

The 747 jetliner with 229 people aboard exploded in a fireball moments after taking off from New York for Paris and plunged into the waters off Long Island. There was no sign of survivors.

“I’m sure there will be extra measures taken,” said Officer Nate Williams, an Atlanta police spokesman. He was unable to give details.

Olympic agencies did not announce any immediate action. They said their already high level of security would suffice until there was a reason to take extra precautions.

“It’s too soon to say,” said Lyn May, spokeswoman for the security office of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games. “We have good intelligence. We’ll be watching the investigation closely, but it’s too soon to do anything based on preliminary reports.”

“We think we have a pretty strong plan and we will continue with our plan,” ACOG spokesman Bill Marks said.

A spokesman at the State Law Enforcement Command - the group organizing 4,500 state law enforcement officers during the Olympics - said that agency also is taking a waitand-see approach.

“Call us early in the morning and we’ll know exactly what we’re doing,” Don Daniel said. “We’re still analyzing the data. We feel very confident with the type of security we have in place.”

Daniel said some steps likely were being taken.

“I’m sure we’ve got some heads-up going on,” he said.

There didn’t seem to be any change in security in downtown Atlanta late Wednesday. Officers and guards patrolling the area said they had not been alerted of anything. Few had even heard of the crash 3 hours after it occurred.

Asked about the possibility of a bomb, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Eliot Brenner said, “We can’t discuss security issues.”

President Clinton, who is scheduled to open the Games Friday night, was briefed about the crash, but the White House issued no formal statements.

The FAA had been placed on an increased level of security because of the Olympics, said Mike Kelly, a TWA vice president.