Jetliner, Smaller Plane Collide on Runway at Atlanta; Pilot Dies

An Eastern Airlines jet and a twin-engine plane collided on the ground Thursday night, killing the pilot of the smaller plane and injuring his co-pilot, officials said.

The accident, shortly after 7 p.m., occurred when a Beechcraft King Air 100 landed at Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport and was overtaken on the runway by an Eastern Airlines Boeing 727 that had landed just behind it, officials said. The roof and tail of the smaller plane were sheared off while the Eastern plane sustained little damage. No injuries were reported aboard the Eastern jet.

“Passengers on the Eastern flight are OK. No injuries,” said Eastern spokesman Robin Matell in Miami. “The extent of damage on our plane is wing damage. How extensive I don’t know.”

The dead pilot was identified as 30-year-old Eric Thomas. The co-pilot, Daniel Olthoff, 26, was reported in stable condition at the South Fulton Medical Center.

Passengers aboard the Eastern jet described the impact as surprisingly light, as the jetliner’s right wing tore off part of the small plane. One passenger aboard the commercial jetliner said the runway collision “felt like hitting a pothole.”

Another reported “a lot of confusion, but nobody screamed or anything.”

Several passengers lauded the Eastern pilot’s performance in the collision, noting that he held the plane steady after the collision and brought it to a safe stop.

After the collision, medical personnel on the scene fought blowing fuel in order to remove the two men from the small plane. One medic noted that the small plane’s engines were still running at the time, leaving open the possibility that a propeller could break loose from the plane and cause injuries.

The Eastern plane, Flight 111, was arriving from New York’s La Guardia Airport after originating in Montreal. It carried 141 passengers and a crew of eight. The small plane, with only the two men aboard, had flown to Hartsfield from DeKalb Peachtree Airport, which is near Atlanta.

A light fog hung over the area at the time of the collision, but Federal Aviation Administration officials investigating the collision did not indicate that weather contributed to the accident.

While investigators are certain to focus on the question of why the two planes were on the same runway at the same time, officials said Thursday night that they could not point to a cause.

“We have no idea what caused” the mishap, said John Braden, an airport spokesman. Investigation into the collision will continue today as officials from the National Transportation Safety Board join those from the FAA.

Meanwhile, the damaged plane remained on the closed runway. Some traffic delays were expected as a result.