Feelings of disbelief and terror filled several Bermuda-bound passengers who watched helplessly as AA flight 587 plunged to the ground minutes after take off in New York yesterday.

The daylight tragedy was witnessed by several people on different flights that crossed over the area, many of whom were travelling to Bermuda.

Shocked business traveller Eric Hansen told The Royal Gazette a chilling account of how he watched the flight nosedive ''in slow motion" minutes after it left John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK).

Mr. Hansen explained that his Bermuda bound AA flight 686, was next in line for take-off behind the doomed Dominican Republic flight and said he could not believe his eyes at what he saw.

"This is so crazy," the computer engineer said last night. "I am still shaking. Usually they board us pretty early on Mondays - but we were delayed. Then we were taxiing on the runway and the pilot said that we were waiting for one American Airlines flight to take off and we would be next.

"I was sitting in on the left side of the plane looking out the window and it was a clear day.

So we take off and as we are ascending I saw the American Airlines plane in front of us circle and loop to the left. We are not that far off the ground and I see the American Airlines plane flip over and turn downward and it just went straight down into the ground. It just hit the ground - it was like slow motion. Then, a couple of seconds later, this big fire ball started rising from the ground. It was the scariest thing that I have ever seen in my life."

Mr. Hansen said that he was gripped with fear at the sight, which was only witnessed by a few of his fellow passengers.