NIU faculty and students agree that Monday’s crash of American Airlines Flight 587 will not have a great additional effect on an economy that’s already down.

“I don’t think it will have a large effect on the economy,” said Carl Campbell, an assistant professor and assistant chair in the department of economics.

Whether the crash was caused by accident or terrorist attack will be a factor in the number of problems caused for the airline industry, Campbell said.

The typical short-term concerns people feel after a crash will apply if it is a random accident, Campbell said.

On Tuesday the Chicago Tribune reported that airline traffic typically falls off dramatically in the 10-day to two-week period following any U.S. airline crash.

“The crash will probably not cause people to change their Thanksgiving travel plans,” Campbell said. “Most people already have their tickets.”

Campbell said he will not be changing his own travel plans for Thanksgiving.

Senior marketing major Cheherazad Deboo agrees that the airlines probably will not be affected much if the reported cause of the crash is an accident.

“I think if it was terrorism-related it would,” Deboo said.

Deboo flew on the day of the crash on an American Airlines flight out of Canada. She heard about it on the way to the airport.

“I was a little worried,” she said.

Junior history major Jeff Eldridge said the economy already has been affected even before Monday’s crash. The airline industry was already in trouble before the Sept. 11 attacks and Monday’s American Airlines crash.

Eldridge said the crash does not change the way he feels about flying. Flying now is safer than ever with the added security, Eldridge said.

“It’s still safer than driving,” he added.