Charter plane crashes with 19 people aboard

Christopher Newton

Sunday, May 21, 2000 | 2:50 a.m.

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - A twin-engine charter plane carrying 19 people from Atlantic City, N.J., crashed in a ball of fire after apparent engine failure Sunday as it attempted to land in bad weather. There was no sign of survivors, officials said.

Fiery wreckage was spotted in a heavily wooded area about 9 miles south of the WiIkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport in northeastern Pennsylvania.

It appeared that both of the turbo prop's engines had failed, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Tammy Jones.

"Investigators found a ball of fire at the scene," Jones said. "The weather was bad, it was windy and there was some precipitation. The visibility was poor."

Wy Gowell, assistant director at the airport, said the plane apparently developed engine trouble during its second landing attempt.

There were no signs of survivors, said Joe Thomas, manager of the Luzerne County 911 system. The plane carried 17 passengers and two crew members, Jones said.

The plane crashed about two miles into the woods. "Apparently there isn't much left in one piece," said Al Bardar, director for emergency management for Luzerne County. "It doesn't look like anyone survived."

Peter Hartt, spokesman for the South Jersey Transportation Authority, which operates the Atlantic City Airport, said the plane was operated by Executive Airlines. He said it left the city about 10:30 a.m. and was scheduled to land in Wilkes-Barre an hour later.

Executive Airlines officials declined to comment.

Hartt said the airline typically runs casino charters, but he did not know who was aboard.

The 1988 BA-31 Jetstream disappeared from radar about 11:40 a.m. during a second instrument approach, typically performed if the visibility is poor or if there is a low cloud deck.

Emergency crews began searching along the planned flight path of the plane as soon as they were notified shortly after 11:30 a.m. that it would not reach the airport, said Luzerne County 911 spokesman Ron Rome. The wreckage was spotted about an hour later.

Megan Maguire was outside gardening at her home near the airport on the northern rim of the Pocono Mountains shortly before noon when she heard a plane apparently having problems.

"I heard the engines die, then I heard them start up again, and then they just died. I heard it rev up twice, so it died twice," she said.

Wilkes-Barre is 150 miles northwest of Atlantic City, N.J.