Mo. Governor Feared Dead in Plane Crash

A plane carrying Gov. Mel Carnahan, one of his sons and a campaign aide crashed Monday night in rural Missouri in a heavy rain, killing all three, according to a relative of the advisor.

Carnahan, his son Randy and advisor Chris Sifford all died in the crash, Frank Sifford, a relative, told the Associated Press.

However, authorities said they would not identify the wreckage--or any bodies they might recover--until this morning.

Carnahan, a Democrat locked in a close race for a U.S. Senate seat, had been due to fly from a fund-raiser in St. Louis to another in southeastern Missouri. He never arrived.

He departed St. Louis about 7 p.m. in his campaign plane, a twin-engine Cessna usually piloted by his son. About a half-hour later, residents of rural Jefferson County reported hearing a loud explosion; some said they heard the roar of a plane engine, and at least one reported seeing a fireball against the stormy sky.

Rescue crews responded immediately but found the wooded terrain tough going in the dark. They reported finding some pieces of a plane, including landing gear, but did not release any information about the victims.

Randy Carnahan, an experienced pilot, may have been flying the plane. The governor, an Air Force veteran, also flew and has been training for his instrument certification.

A pelting rain raked the St. Louis area for hours before the governor’s flight Monday. The weather was so bad that a TWA jet skidded off the runway Monday afternoon after landing at Lambert Field.

Authorities said the pilot of the governor’s plane reported trouble maintaining altitude shortly before the crash.

Carnahan, 66, is known in Missouri as a low-key, rather bland politician, but lawmakers laud him for his in-depth knowledge of issues, and his moderate policies have proved popular in this generally conservative state. He has been proudest of doubling funding for public schools during his eight years in office, thanks to increased corporate and individual income taxes.

Before winning his first term as governor in a landslide in 1992, Carnahan--whose father was a U.S. representative for Missouri-- served the state as a municipal judge, a state legislator, state treasurer and lieutenant governor. He also worked as an attorney.

“As a youth, I remember [Adlai] Stevenson saying public service was a ‘high calling’ and urging young people to get involved,” Carnahan once said. “I am still enough of an idealist to believe he was right.”

A hobby farmer in his spare time, Carnahan and his wife, Jean, have four children and two grandchildren.

Carnahan has been in a tight battle with Republican Sen. John Ashcroft for Missouri’s Senate seat; a few recent polls have showed him with a slight edge, but analysts say the race is too close to call. The contest has been viewed as critical to the Democrats’ hopes of recapturing the Senate by picking up five seats now held by Republicans.

Ashcroft announced Monday night that he was suspending all campaign activities. Laura Bush, wife of Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush, also canceled an appearance scheduled today in St. Louis. Bush and Vice President Al Gore are to meet in their final debate tonight here.

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Researcher John Beckham contributed to this story.