THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 3, 1994 TAG: 9407030235
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: FROM WIRE REPORTS
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
A USAir jet crashed into telephone poles on approach to Charlotte-Douglas International Airport during a thunderstorm Saturday, breaking into three pieces and killing at least 18 of the 55 people aboard.
One eyewitness saw a man with his clothes on fire, running from the plane and yelling, ``Help me, help me. I'm on fire.''
The plane split in two, with its underbelly ripped open, according to a paramedic at the scene.
Reports from other emergency personnel at the scene indicated some bodies were found still in their seats - both inside and outside the remains of the plane, said the paramedic, who did not want to be identified.
Other passengers had been thrown free.
Checks with three Charlotte hospitals showed at least 23 people were hospitalized, many with burns. Some had head injuries. One of those hospitalized was a woman on the ground hit by debris from the wreck.
The half-filled DC-9 crashed at about 6:40 p.m. It hit a home, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
Flight 1016, a DC-9, originated in Columbia, S.C., and Charlotte was its final destination, said USAir spokesman Dave Shipley. The pilot had not declared an emergency, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The forward cabin of the plane, from the nose to about where the first-class section ended, was lying on Wallace Neal Road, short of the runway, according to a paramedic who responded to the scene. ``The fuselage was ripped open on the bottom - not like an explosion,'' the paramedic said.
Fire-retarding foam was sprayed around the area, near the airplane's forward cabin, the paramedic said. But it was unclear if the foam was for preventive purposes. There was no sign of a fire in that section, said the paramedic, who also is a volunteer firefighter.
A spokeswoman from the Federal Aviation Administration said the plane was approaching the runway but could not land for an undetermined reason.
The crew initiated a ``missed approach'' procedure, in which the plane pulls up to circle around for a second landing attempt. The plane crashed while pulling up, the FAA spokeswoman said.
The pilot had aborted his initial landing and was about to pull up and make another approach when the plane apparently struck telephone poles, airport manager Jerry Orr said.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board were scheduled to arrive in Charlotte about midnight after flying from Washington late Saturday, said Preston Hicks, chief of the agency's Atlanta regional office.
There were thunderstorms in the area at the time of the crash, but an National Transportation Safety Board official said he didn't know whether the weather was a factor.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board will conduct a news media briefing sometime today, possibly early this morning, Hicks said. The safety board normally takes six to nine months to report its findings on an accident, he said.
Transportation Secretary Federico Pena also flew to the scene, according to the Washington Post.
Zebb Strawn, an off-duty sheriff's deputy, rushed to the scene with his friend, Keith Herrin, and heard someone banging on the tail section of the plane.
``There was nothing I could do,'' he said. ``I couldn't get to him. There were flames between him and me.''
Herrin said, ``They were screaming and banging, but we couldn't get them out.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The tail section of the USAir DC-9 came to rest on a house near
Charlotte-Douglas International Airport after the crash Saturday.
Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rescue workers examine the wreckage near Charlotte-Douglas
International Airport.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT PLANE FATALITIES INJURIES
USAIR by CNB