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Posted: 20
October 2004, 12:16am ET (0416 GMT) |
At least eight killed in American Commuter plane
crash.
CBS |
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| An American Connection Jetstream turboprop, similar to the aircraft involved in Tuesday's accident, is seen in this photo. (Chris Starnes/View Full Size) |
A commuter plane crashed Tuesday in woods as it approached an airport in northeastern Missouri, killing at least eight of the 15 people on board, officials said.
At least two people from the flight survived and were being treated at a local hospital, and five were missing, said Adair County Chief Deputy Larry Logston.
The last communication from the Jetstream 32 twin-engine turboprop indicated it was on a normal approach to Kirksville Regional Airport, and there was no mention of any problems, said Elizabeth Isham Cory, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration in Chicago.
The plane crashed four miles south of the Kirksville airport, she said. The plane, believed to have been Corporate Airlines Flight 5966, was on a regular route from St. Louis when it crashed shortly after 7:30 p.m., she said.
Logston said there were two known survivors -- a man and a woman. It was not immediately clear whether the 15 people included the crew.
The two survivors were being treated at Northeast Regional Medical Center in Kirksville, according to Larry Rodgers, a spokesman for the hospital. He said both were stable, but had no information about the extent of their injuries.
"As the physicians evaluate them, we should know more," he said.
Corporate Airlines, based in Smyrna, Tenn., began operating in 1996. It flies a commuter carrier for American, with service from St. Louis to smaller towns mostly in Missouri and Tennessee.
The company flies 19-seat Jetsream 32s, which were introduced in 1982 by British Aerospace, part of BAE Systems.
A message left for Doug Caldwell, Corporate Airlines' CEO, was not immediately returned.
A special hotline has been set up for family members. The number is 1-800-245-0999.
Kirksville is about 220 miles northwest of St. Louis.
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