
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, October 28, 1993                   TAG: 9310280236
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: FRONT ROYAL                                LENGTH: Medium

CAUSE OF FAA CRASH UNKNOWN

There was fog and heavy haze at the time of a plane crash that killed three employees of the Federal Aviation Administration, an agency spokeswoman said.

The twin-engine Beechcraft 300 Kingair crashed and caught fire shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday near High Knob in Warren County, said FAA spokeswoman Holly J. Baker. The plane was owned by the FAA.

Killed were pilot Donald Robbins, 55, of Williamstown, N.J.; co-pilot Dan Jameson, 50, of Ocean City, N.J.; and aviation technician Ed Dowling, 55, of Absecon, N.J.

The plane left the agency's flight inspection field office near Atlantic City, N.J., about 1:30 p.m. for a trip to Winchester Regional Airport, Baker said.

The employees checked the Winchester airport's localizer, an aid used in instrument landings, said Jeff Guzzetti, an air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board.

The FAA team then took off and headed southeast to Williamsburg-Newport News International Airport before crashing, Baker said.

The crew was in touch with air traffic controllers during the flight but gave no indication it was having problems, said safety board spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz.

The plane was operating under visual flight rules but had requested an instrument flight clearance from Dulles International Airport, Baker said. It was in the process of being cleared to fly by instruments when the crash occurred, she said. Instruments are used for flying in bad weather.

Lopatkiewicz said he didn't know if weather played a role in the crash.

Leslie Henderson was driving south on U.S. 522 near the Gateway Plaza Shopping Center when she saw a plane banking toward High Knob. She said she didn't see smoke or hear sputtering or stalling, "but it was going down."

Keywords:
FATALITY

by CNB