CNN CNN Newsroom August 14, 2013 17:04:00
Member of the civil air patrol, a former airline mechanic. he thought he heard a backfire from one of the engines. >> very fast and i went to windows on the backside where i hear this aircraft and look in the sky. i saw the flash. i mouse moved. he heard was sounded like a backfire following by a rush of engine noise suggesting the pilot play have been trying to give the engines as much gas as possible trying to gain some altitude before the crash. adding to this mystery i spoke to the mayor of birmingham who says the pilot made so energy call to the tower here.