Investigators say fuel spill may be from downed Indonesian jetliner

Monday, January 15th 2007, 6:18 am

By: News On 6

MAKASSAR, Indonesia (AP) _ Investigators were trying to determine whether a fuel spill spotted in northeastern Indonesian waters was from a jetliner that crashed with 102 people on board two weeks ago, a top search and rescue official said Monday.

The spill was detected Sunday during an aerial survey along Sulawesi Island's western coast, said the official Eddy Suyanto. A ship was deployed to the area to see if it came from the downed Boeing 737, but strong currents shifted the oil slick and investigators were unable to find it by nightfall Monday.

``So far we've had no luck,'' Suyanto told reporters, adding that investigators had hoped the discovery of jet fuel would help pinpoint the location of the crash site.

Three Americans _ a man from Oregon and his two daughters _ were among the passengers.

Part of a jetliner's tail, food trays, life vests and shards of fuselage have been pulled from the Makassar Strait in the last week. No survivors or bodies have been found, although Suyanto said Monday fragments of human hair and what appears to be part of a scalp were recovered from one of the jetliner's headrests.

But with flight data recorders and the body of the plane still missing, experts do not know what caused the crash.

The Adam Air plane crashed on Jan. 1 after encountering 80 mph winds and storms that forced the pilot to twice change course, though he did not issue a mayday or report technical difficulties before falling off the radar.