Posted on Wed, Jan. 08, 2003

Commuter plane crash kills 21 at Charlotte/Douglas
MARK WASHBURN, KEN GARFIELD & ELIZABETH LELAND
The Charlotte Observer

"There is no indication, preliminarily, that this is a terrorist incident," said Chris Swecker of the FBI, who said the agency will assist in the investigation.

The flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder were recovered and sent to a National Transportation Safety Board laboratory in Washington, where they will be examined Thursday.

The pilots were Capt. Katie Leslie and first officer Jonathan Gibbs, both of Charlotte.

The commuter flight leaves the Charlotte terminal at 8:30 a.m. weekdays and usually arrives at Greenville-Spartanburg Airport 45 minutes later. It is used mostly by business travelers or passengers from western South Carolina who connected on flights through Charlotte.

In Greenville, families and friends of those believed to be on the flight were briefed privately by airline personnel. Counseling was available for those who wanted it, said airport spokeswoman Rosylin Weston.

The Greenville airport has about 70 inbound flights a day, many connecting with the hub in Charlotte, she said.

The operator of the flight was Air Midwest, operating as US Airways Express, said Dave Castelveter, US Airways spokesman. Air Midwest is owned by Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group, one of the country's leading regional jet operators.

"Our hopes and prayers go out to the families of Flight 5481," said Chris Leak, a representative of Mesa. A phone line was set up for relatives of those aboard the flight: (800) 679-8215.

Runways were closed for a time, disrupting flights at US Airways' largest hub. At least nine flights were canceled Wednesday morning, including another morning flight to Greenville.

It was the first fatal accident of a commercial plane at the Charlotte/Douglas since a USAir DC-9 crashed in July 1994, killing 37.

Airport chaplain Ben Wenning prayed Wednesday with a half-dozen gate attendants and baggage handlers who worked the flight.

He said he was struck by how the ground crew said everything seemed so normal about the flight: baggage went aboard swiftly, passengers seemed cheerful.

One employee told Wenning how the pilot waved at him and smiled as he pulled away from the terminal.

Wenning was joined at the airport by a half-dozen other chaplains, who set up a counseling area for family members of victims, if any arrived.

US Airways baggage handler Debbie Wolfe, who has worked at the airport for 22 years, took solace at the airport's chapel.

"I just felt the need to pray," she said. "It just broke my heart for these folks."