At Least 8 Die in Mo. Plane Crash
Wednesday, October 20, 2004

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. "” A twin-engine turboprop commuter plane crashed in the woods a few miles short of the airport where it was preparing to land, killing at least eight people but leaving five others missing and two known survivors with only broken bones.

Emergency crews searched woods and open fields early Wednesday for any sign of those missing from Tuesday's crash of the American Airlines-affiliated Corporate Airlines (search) plane.

"We always have hope that there's going to be other survivors," Sgt. Brent Bernhardt of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said at a pre-dawn news conference. "We had officers out there all night. I'm confident that they did a good search, but I can tell you the area is heavy brush, it's hard to see through. When the daylight arrives, it's going to help us out tremendously."

The plane clipped treetops before crashing on its belly with 13 passengers and two crew members aboard, Adair County Chief Deputy Larry Logston said. The cause of the crash had not been determined.

Emergency crews found the fuselage engulfed in flames and largely intact, with the wings broken off nearby, Logston said. All eight of those known dead were found in the fuselage, some still in their seats and the two crew members in the cockpit area, he said.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,135995,00.html

At Least 13 Die in Mo. Plane Crash
Wednesday, October 20, 2004


Thirteen people died in the crash Tuesday night. Two escaped with little more than broken bones. The bodies of all the victims have now been recovered.

"It was remarkable," said National Transportation Safety Board member Carol Carmody of the survivors.

The plane took off from St. Louis and went down in woods as it came in for a landing in Kirksville, a city of about 17,000.

Carmody didn't release the identities of those who died in the crash, although some have been identified by family members and employers.

Authorities called it a miracle that anyone managed to survive the crash of the Jetstream 32, a 19-seat twin-engine turboprop flown by Corporate Airlines.

Rescuers found the plane's fuselage in flames, with one of its wings broken off. Most of the debris was found in compact area of about 40-by-60 feet, Carmody said.


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,135995,00.html

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. Investigators say a commuter plane that crashed in Missouri this week lacked a new warning system that will be required next year.

A spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board says the Corporate Airlines turboprop had an older version of the terrain warning system. It warns pilots when a plane strays too close to the ground.

The version aboard the plane meets current rules. It automatically shuts off during landing. The new system to be required by March 29th shows the plane's surroundings on a cockpit screen and calls out a warning if the plane strays dangerously close to the ground or an obstacle.

The N-T-S-B spokesman says the cockpit warning system is "just one of many aspects of the investigation."

A pilots union official says "it's just sad" that the airline hadn't yet added the new system.

Thirteen people aboard the St. Louis to Kirksville flight died when it slammed into the ground just short of its destination.

http://www.kfor.com/Global/story.asp?S=2469177

So could this be another case of the FAA giving airlines far too long to make changes that would improve safety?