Posted on 10/15/2004 9:09:02 AM PDT by Lokibob
1:27 a.m. October 15, 2004
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A small jet with no passengers went down in a residential area of eastern Jefferson City, damaging a building, authorities said.
Associated PressFirefighters battle a blaze that erupted after a regional jet crashed into a residential area in Jefferson City, Mo. Authorities said the plane crashed between rows of houses, narrowly missing several homes. There was no word on the fate of the plane's occupants, which included only the pilot and co-pilot, authorities said.
Only the pilot and co-pilot were aboard the CRJ2, a two-engine regional jet that could seat up to 50 people, Jefferson City police Capt. Michael Smith said. The plane was operated by Memphis-based Pinnacle Airlines, a regional carrier affiliated with Northwest Airlines, Northwest spokesman Kurt Ebenhouch said.
There was no immediate information about injuries, either to anyone in the plane or on the ground in the neighborhood just north of U.S. 50 a few miles east of downtown. The plane damaged a building, but Smith said early Friday morning that the structure was not believed to be a house.
"As of yet, we have recovered no bodies," Smith said.
Neither major hospital in the city reported receiving victims from the crash.
Smith said the plane was apparently experiencing engine problems when it went down after 10 p.m. Thursday night.
Smith said the plane had left from Little Rock, Ark., and was heading to Minneapolis-St. Paul. The pilot and co-pilot were returning the plane to Minneapolis when they tried make an emergency landing at an airport near Jefferson City, Ebenhouch said.
Police evacuated a roughly three-block area near the crash site and weren't allowing any vehicles near the area, Smith said. U.S. 50 remained open.
"One aircraft engine was along the road. There was some debris in a tree, and a burned area," Smith said. "You could still smell the fuel."
The National Transportation Safety Board and Pinnacle were sending people to the crash site.
Amanda Clemons, 24, said she heard the plane crash and could see the site from her Jefferson City apartment.
"I felt the apartment shake. I thought it was thunder at first, and then maybe an earthquake," Clemons said in a telephone interview.
Also Thursday, a small plane crashed near some townhouses in the south Chicago suburb of Joliet, Ill., killing the pilot, police said. No one on the ground was injured.
The plane took off from the Joliet Regional Airport just before 8 p.m., but turned around a short time later and tried to land, officer Chris Gombosi said.
"It sounded like a car wreck," said Rick Klett, who said he was in his garage across the street from the crash, which occurred a few hundred feet from the subdivision.
My son lives less than a mile from the crash site, and said he thought it was a bomb.
He headed toward the crash site, only to be turned around and sent home. Later in the early AM, they were evacuated.
Prayers to the lives lost, and thankfully, nobody on the ground hurt.
Bob
> I know this was posted late last night here on Fr ...
Small plane down in Jefferson City MO
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1245647/posts
Terribly sad loss....RIP....
Pinnacle Airlines (NASDAQ: PNCL), Memphis, Tenn. October 15, 2004
A Pinnacle Airlines repositioning flight was involved in an accident last night at 10:30 p.m. Central Time. The incident occurred just outside Jefferson City, MO. The flight departed Little Rock, AR at approximately 9:21 p.m. Central Time and was enroute to Minneapolis - St. Paul, MN. There were no passengers or flight attendant on board. The two pilots on board the aircraft did not survive the incident.
"I am greatly saddened by the loss of our crew," said Philip H. Trenary, President & CEO of Pinnacle Airlines. "My prayers and the prayers of all Pinnacle People are with their family and loved ones."
The flight was operated with a Canadair Regional Jet. This aircraft has a capacity of 50 passengers, two pilots and one flight attendant. The aircraft operating this specific flight was delivered to Pinnacle on May 18, 2000, and was new at the time of delivery. The aircraft had flown 10,161 hours and had been inspected in accord with FAA regulations and manufacturer specifications. The major inspections revealed no major findings.
The pilots were Captain Jesse Rhodes and First Officer Richard Peter Cesarz. Captain Rhodes joined Pinnacle in February 2003. Previously, he had been a Captain at another regional airline and had accumulated over 6,700 flight hours. First Officer Cesarz joined Pinnacle in June 2004.
Pinnacle Airlines is cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board on this investigation.
Pinnacle Airlines, Inc., operates under the name Northwest Airlink and provides service to destinations in the United States and Canada. Pinnacle operates an all-jet fleet of Canadair 44 and 50-seat Regional Jets from Northwest hubs at Detroit, Memphis and Minneapolis - St. Paul. Pinnacle Airlines maintains its headquarters in Memphis, Tenn., and employs more than 2,800 People. For further information, please contact Philip Reed, Vice-President, Marketing at 901-348-4257, or visit our web-site at www.nwairlink.com.
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