It seems to me the reason is simply that it wasn't anyone's job to make sure there was really great footage of the crash. Everyone was too busy preparing to res

It seems to me the reason is simply that it wasn't anyone's job to make sure there was really great footage of the crash. Everyone was too busy preparing to respond to an imminent disaster in which nearly 300 lives were, in all probability, about to be lost. "Hey Bob, you have that VHS recorder stowed away somewhere in the locker room, don't you? This guy on something called a website 30 years in the future is going to really wish that we got great footage of a horrible crash in which dozens of people die. Why don't you run out a little closer to the airstrip where a nearly completely out-of-control airplane flying at an insane speed is about to slam into the ground? Future spectators will really appreciate it."