2nd Congressman in Week Killed in Airplane Crash : Miss. Rep. Dies in His Home State

Mississippi congressman Larkin Smith died in the blazing crash of his light plane in a densely forested area, the second member of the House killed in an air accident in a week, authorities said today.

Smith, a 45-year-old Republican, threw out the first ball of the Dixie Youth World Series baseball tournament Sunday evening in Hattiesburg, Miss., then left in good weather on a 35-minute flight to Gulfport.

Fifteen minutes later, witnesses heard the plane descend, its single engine still running, WLOX-TV in Biloxi reported.

The plane disintegrated and burned on landing, cutting a 300-yard swath through the thick underbrush of the wilderness area of the DeSoto National Forest, the radio station reported.

Hundreds of searchers hunted through the night for the plane, but it was only after daylight that it was spotted from the air.

“It is my sad duty to announce the death of Congressman Larkin Smith of Mississippi’s 5th District,” said a shaken aide, John Walker, at a Washington news conference.

Smith’s death was confirmed only a day after the discovery of the wreckage of a plane carrying Rep. Mickey Leland (D-Tex.) and 15 other people. They were killed when their plane crashed in heavily forested mountainous terrain last week in Ethiopia.

House Speaker Thomas Foley called the deaths of Leland and Smith “a heavy blow” to the House.

Speaking with reporters as he arrived at the Capitol, Foley said that sometimes there are “great periods of tragedy coming one after the other.”

But he said it was “unprecedented outside of wartime, in my experience, to lose two such promising members by accidental death in the same week.”

President Bush telephoned condolences to Smith’s wife, and White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said Bush felt deep regret.

“Congressman Smith was just beginning a promising career in the Congress. The President and Mrs. Bush extend their sympathies to the family of Congressman Smith and his associate, who also died in the crash,” the spokesman said.

That was a reference to the pilot, Chuck Vierling, who also died in the crash.

Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus ordered state flags to be flown at half-staff, saying Smith “had dedicated his life to public service.” Smith’s seat will be filled by special election.

In his seven months in Congress, Smith had co-sponsored legislation to strengthen federal drug law enforcement and criticized federal drug czar William Bennett for backing a ban on semiautomatic assault weapons from other countries.

Smith represented the Gulfport area in his first term as a congressman.

Before he was elected, Smith had spent his career in law enforcement, serving as Gulfport chief of police and later as sheriff of Harrison County. He is survived by a wife and daughter.

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) used the occasion to take to task those who have been critical of travel by members of Congress. He said the kind of travel done by Smith and Leland is often the object of criticism.

“These two members lost their lives while they were trying to provide good representation,” he said.