Plane crashes, 21 dead (Charlotte, NC)

[wovenwonder]

Wednesday, January 8, 2003 Posted: 11:23 AM EST (1623 GMT)



CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (CNN) -- A US Airways Express/Air Midwest commuter plane crashed on takeoff into a hangar Wednesday at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, bursting into a ball of fire and killing 19 passengers and two crew members.

"There are no survivors," said Jerry Orr, airport operations director. He said ground workers near the site all had been accounted for and were not among the dead.

Orr said the crash happened shortly after takeoff. "The plane was unable to maintain altitude," Orr said, heading south on takeoff and veering left into the hangar, causing an intense fire that was quickly extinguished.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane was US Airways Express/Air Midwest Flight 5481 and was on its way to the Greenville-Spartanburg Jetport in South Carolina.

It took off at 8:49 a.m. EST and was due to arrive at 9:05 a.m. EST, officials said.


Entire CNN Story Here

Prayers going out to the victims families and friends!

 

[newmousecateer]

 

[Blondie]

 

[SeaShelley]

So sad.....prayers to the families.....

 

[JAP]

So sad.

 

[gemmie214]

How sad

 

[helenabear]

My heart goes out to all their loved ones.

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

How awful. Prayers to everyone affected.

 

[Patio]

How sad My prayers go out to all those involved in this terrible tragedy.

 

[grinningghost]

Very sad. Just a few days ago, I heard on the news that there weren't any commercial airline fatalities last year. This was not a good way to start 2003.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

oh no.

 

[nativetxn]

Very sad and scary

 

[wovenwonder]

I see news of a Plane crash and my mind immediately goes to the horror of 9-11. I wonder if that will ever change?

From Cnn.com -
The Federal Aviation Administration said there was a cockpit call to the air traffic control tower before the crash reporting some kind of emergency, but that it was cut off before controllers were able to get any details. This makes retrieval of the cockpit voice recorder all the more crucial, officials said.

The significance of the emergency call is not clear yet, "but at least we know there was some sort of catastrophic event that caused her to declare an emergency," said John Goglia, head of the NTSB go-team, in an apparent reference to the pilot.

"There are no preliminary indications of any terrorist incident in this plane crash," said FBI Special Agent Chris Swecker.

 

[Kermit]

This is so sad. I don't want to watch the news tonight because I know that some of the victims must have lived here.

 

[Serena]