WASHINGTON?An accident rather than terrorism probably caused an American Airlines jet to plunge into a neighborhood in New York, federal officials said Monday. Investigators focused on an engine that fell away from the doomed plane.

The investigators swiftly reviewed the plane’s maintenance records, but initially found “nothing indicative of a specific problem,” said director Marion Blakey of the National Transportation Safety Board.

“All information we have currently is that this is an accident,” said Blakey, as the Bush administration sent experts to the scene.

While the crash was horrific?the plane carried 255 people to their deaths, and wreckage set several homes on fire in Queens?the preliminary assessment seemed a relief of sorts for a nation struggling to recover from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and an outbreak of mail-spread anthrax.