Jet Crashes in Storm, Killing at Least 16

A USAir jet crashed on its second approach to the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport during a thunderstorm Saturday, shearing off the top of telephone poles and killing at least 16 of the 55 people aboard.

One man was seen running from the plane yelling: “Help me, help me! I’m on fire!” People were being treated at the scene by emergency medical crews; at least 26 were taken to area hospitals.

Flight 1016, a DC-9, had taken off from Columbia, S.C., said Kathleen Bergen, manager of public affairs for the Federal Aviation Administration in Atlanta.

“We believe there are survivors,” Bergen said. She said the agency was not aware of any problems before the plane went down about 6:40 p.m. EDT. There were 50 passengers and five crew members aboard.

Airport Director Jerry Orr confirmed that at least 16 people were killed. He said the plane hit a number of telephone poles and crashed near a house.

WBTV-TV in Charlotte reported that some passengers may be trapped in the crumbled tail section of the plane. Part of the fuselage was laying on top of the house.

Carolina’s Medical Center told the TV station that its trauma center has admitted a dozen passengers, most suffering burns.

The pilot had aborted his initial landing and was about to pull up and make another approach when he apparently struck telephone poles, Orr said.

Phillip Robinson, a minister who lives near the airport, said he was sitting in his car watching planes take off and land when he saw the jet crash about 200 yards away during a bad lightning storm.

He saw a man with his clothes on fire running from the plane yelling, “Help me, help me! I’m on fire!”

Robinson said visibility was very poor because of heavy rain and he could not see the control tower.

The last major accident at the airport occurred in 1974 when an Eastern Airlines jet crashed, killing 60 people.