Man Dies as Planes Collide Just After Atlanta Landing
An Eastern Airlines jetliner landing at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport collided with a twin-engine aircraft that touched down in front of it late Thursday, killing one person, officials said.
Two males were taken to South Fulton Medical Center, hospital officials said. One was dead on arrival and the other was in stable condition. The hospital said it did not have their names and did not know which plane they were on.
Authorities said some minor injuries also were reported.
The collision involved Eastern Flight 111, a Boeing 727 that originated at La Guardia Airport in New York, and a Beechcraft King Air 100, a twin-engine executive-type aircraft, officials with the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Roger Myers, an FAA spokesman, said the Eastern plane was completing its landing as the twin-engine aircraft was still taxiing on the runway.
“The Eastern airliner landed behind him, and they collided on the runway. . . . He (the Eastern pilot) was on his landing roll,” Myers said.
He said he did not know whether either plane might have landed improperly, causing the collision. FAA officials were investigating.
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