At 9:13:28, the A300 was cleared for takeoff and left the runway at 9:14:29, about 1 minute and 40 seconds after the JAL flight. The aircraft climbed to an altitude of and then entered a climbing left turn to a heading of 220°. At 9:15:00, the captain made initial contact with the departure controller, informing him that the airplane was at and climbing to . The controller instructed the aircraft to climb to and maintain . The flight data recorder (FDR) showed that the events leading to the crash began when the aircraft hit wake turbulence from the JAL flight in front of it at 9:15:36. In response to a new wave of turbulence, Molin alternated between moving the rudder from the right to the left and back again in quick succession from 9:15:52, causing sideslip until the lateral force caused composite lugs that attached the vertical stabilizer to fail at 9:15:58. The stabilizer separated from the aircraft and fell into Jamaica Bay, about one mile north of the main wreckage site.