Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
FAA Releases Tapes from North Carolina Plane Crash
Aired May 12, 2003 - 14:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: So what caused a U.S. Airways commuter flight to crash in Charlotte, North Carolina, on January 8? The FAA has just released some tapes between the pilots and the control tower in the moments before the crash. The pilot had declared an emergency shortly after the plane was airborne. The crash occurred just 37 seconds after takeoff.
CNN's Patty Davis in Washington with the latest on all of this -- hello, Patty.
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles. Well, the tapes are dramatic. Captain Katie Leslie frantically calling air traffic control. She has an emergency.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CAPT. KATIE LESLIE, PILOT: We have an emergency for Air Midwest 54-80 (ph)...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: American 9-7-9...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) runway now.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
DAVIS: The plane's emergency locator transmitter beeping. The plane now on fire. Another pilot asks what's happening.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cleared to land, U.S. Air 684. Is that fire the fire department practicing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll talk about it later.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
DAVIS: All 21 people on board were killed as the plane plunged to the ground and clipped a maintenance hangar. The Transportation Safety -- Transportation Safety Board is looking at maintenance on the plane's elevator cables. It is also looking at weight and balance. The plane was within 100 pounds of its maximum weight. All airlines estimate weight of their passengers, assuming that they are 180 pounds. But after the crash, the FAA told small airlines to weigh some passengers and see if that weight still holds. What they found shocking, passengers on average weigh 20 pounds more. So this afternoon, we are expecting the FAA to release new guidelines for commercial aircraft on weight.
Now, what that means is there could be fewer seats available on your next flight, especially if it's a smaller aircraft where weight really is crucial -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: So, Patty, is that going to be where the focus lies? Are there some other factors we should be looking at as well on this one?
DAVIS: Right. Weight and balance, also maintenance. The NTSB found some evidence that the elevator cables that control the up and down movement of the plane were not adjusted correctly. What that meant is if there was a weight issue -- say, for instance, the cargo moved when this plane was taking its steep climb -- it would be difficult for this pilot, Captain Katie Leslie, to get out of it if she didn't have full control -- those elevator cables were the wrong length or didn't give her maximum control, Miles.
O'BRIEN: And as I recall, there had been some maintenance done on those cables not long before that crash.
DAVIS: Right. It was done just two days before that crash took place. This was the ninth flight, however, after that maintenance had taken place, but there were some elevator control problems, but not very severe, previous to this. Some elevator control movements that were kind of unusual -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: I wonder if it was the most heavily loaded of flights of those nine. All right. Patty Davis, thanks very much. Keep us up to date on that, please.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 12, 2003 - 14:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: So what caused a U.S. Airways commuter flight to crash in Charlotte, North Carolina, on January 8? The FAA has just released some tapes between the pilots and the control tower in the moments before the crash. The pilot had declared an emergency shortly after the plane was airborne. The crash occurred just 37 seconds after takeoff.
CNN's Patty Davis in Washington with the latest on all of this -- hello, Patty.
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles. Well, the tapes are dramatic. Captain Katie Leslie frantically calling air traffic control. She has an emergency.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CAPT. KATIE LESLIE, PILOT: We have an emergency for Air Midwest 54-80 (ph)...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: American 9-7-9...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) runway now.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
DAVIS: The plane's emergency locator transmitter beeping. The plane now on fire. Another pilot asks what's happening.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cleared to land, U.S. Air 684. Is that fire the fire department practicing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll talk about it later.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
DAVIS: All 21 people on board were killed as the plane plunged to the ground and clipped a maintenance hangar. The Transportation Safety -- Transportation Safety Board is looking at maintenance on the plane's elevator cables. It is also looking at weight and balance. The plane was within 100 pounds of its maximum weight. All airlines estimate weight of their passengers, assuming that they are 180 pounds. But after the crash, the FAA told small airlines to weigh some passengers and see if that weight still holds. What they found shocking, passengers on average weigh 20 pounds more. So this afternoon, we are expecting the FAA to release new guidelines for commercial aircraft on weight.
Now, what that means is there could be fewer seats available on your next flight, especially if it's a smaller aircraft where weight really is crucial -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: So, Patty, is that going to be where the focus lies? Are there some other factors we should be looking at as well on this one?
DAVIS: Right. Weight and balance, also maintenance. The NTSB found some evidence that the elevator cables that control the up and down movement of the plane were not adjusted correctly. What that meant is if there was a weight issue -- say, for instance, the cargo moved when this plane was taking its steep climb -- it would be difficult for this pilot, Captain Katie Leslie, to get out of it if she didn't have full control -- those elevator cables were the wrong length or didn't give her maximum control, Miles.
O'BRIEN: And as I recall, there had been some maintenance done on those cables not long before that crash.
DAVIS: Right. It was done just two days before that crash took place. This was the ninth flight, however, after that maintenance had taken place, but there were some elevator control problems, but not very severe, previous to this. Some elevator control movements that were kind of unusual -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: I wonder if it was the most heavily loaded of flights of those nine. All right. Patty Davis, thanks very much. Keep us up to date on that, please.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
