Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 7, 1995 TAG: 9503070132
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CEREDO, W.VA. LENGTH: Medium
None of the 17 passengers or four crew members aboard USAir Flight 1028 from Pittsburgh were injured in Saturday's accident.
The upper torque link held the two wheels in line, and when it broke, it allowed the wheels to turn and pop off, spokesman Paul Turk said from the airline's headquarters in Arlington, Va.
``This is probably a fluke,'' Turk said Sunday. ``We'll see if we can identify why the break occurred and see if that condition exists in other planes.''
The Federal Aviation Administration also was investigating the accident, said spokeswoman Holly Baker at the FAA regional office in New York.
Both Baker and Turk knew of no other recent incidents in which the wheels came off a plane while it landed.
The wheels came off when the 80-seat Fokker F-28 was about halfway down the runway, Baker said. The plane skidded about 600 feet before it stopped, said airport manager Larry Salyers.
``It's pretty amazing that the pilot kept it from cartwheeling,'' said Mitch Roberts, an airport worker. ``It fishtailed a little bit, but not that bad.''
The passengers left the plane out on the runway and walked to the terminal.
Passenger Pat Maynard said he was startled when the plane started shaking but didn't realize what had happened until he was off the plane.
``It started shaking like a flat tire on a car,'' Maynard said. ``You start thinking about what could have happened after it's over, and you're just glad you had a pilot that could bring you in safe.
``Whoever he was, he has all my thanks,'' Maynard said.
``The passengers thought the pilot did a wonderful job,'' said Bob Schaub, the airport's lawyer. ``They told me they clapped and cheered for him.''
Turk said he did not know the pilot's name.
The stump of the landing gear dug a 1-inch-deep gash in the runway.
Tri-State Airport closed for the rest of the day, and five flights scheduled to arrive later Saturday were canceled or rerouted. Flights resumed Sunday morning.
by CNB