THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, April 18, 1995 TAG: 9504180323
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: ALEXANDER CITY, ALA. LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
An Air Force jet crashed Monday in a wooded area while trying to land at the airport in this eastern Alabama town. All eight people on board were killed.
Fire Chief Ronnie Betts said there were casualties but would not say how many. CNN said all eight people on board the jet were killed.
The plane was trying to make an unplanned landing at the Alexander City airport when it crashed near a subdivision 4 miles from Alexander City, said Lt. Frances Sconi, a spokeswoman for Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
The plane had been en route to Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, said Lt. Col. Johnny Whitaker, a spokesman for Randolph.
He said the jet, which had taken off from Andrews, was based in Randolph and was carrying a crew of two and six passengers.
A Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that both military and civilian personnel were aboard the plane.
The plane did not appear to strike any homes when it went down around 6:30 p.m.
``It sounded like an earthquake when it came over our house,'' resident Miranda Wyckoff told the Alexander City Outlook.
Wyckoff said she heard three explosions, including one as the jet plunged to the ground.
Betts said the plane broke into pieces.
``Not much is intact,'' he said.
Defense Department spokesman Kenneth Bacon in Washington said the plane was a C-21, a military version of the Learjet executive aircraft.
Alexander City is a textile-based community of 15,000 about 40 miles northeast of Montgomery.
KEYWORDS: U.S AIR FORCE ACCIDENT PLANE ACCIDENT MILITARY FATALITIES
by CNB