Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 16, 1994 TAG: 9411160148
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The airport emergency came just one day after the nation's largest pilots union and an international safety group attacked the safety of commuter planes like the 30-seat turboprop that was forced to return to Roanoke.
"This timing is wonderful," airport spokesman Mark Courtney said sarcastically Tuesday.
Six passengers and three crew members were on board when the Atlantic Southeast Airlines plane headed for Atlanta took off just after 9:30 a.m., Courtney said. Around 10 a.m., the control tower in Roanoke was alerted that the plane was turning around because an engine had failed.
Joan Brown, a spokeswoman with the Federal Aviation Administration in New York, said the pilot shut down the engine to minimize any damage caused by the low oil pressure.
The airport sent out an alert, and fire crews rushed to the runway, but Courtney said he doesn't think "it was ever considered any kind of dire emergency."
Austin Gwin of Roanoke, one of the plane's passengers, said everyone on board seemed scared as the flight attendant instructed them in emergency-landing procedures. One woman was waving a Bible in the air, and several people were crying.
"I just prayed to God that we would be OK," Gwin said. "Everyone was a little shaken up."
All of the plane's passengers were offered seats on the next ASA commuter flight headed for Atlanta. ASA is partially owned by Delta Air Lines Inc.
Courtney said he didn't know if all of the passengers opted to take the flight. Several calls to ASA's Atlanta headquarters weren't returned.
The International Airline Passengers Association on Monday warned people to avoid flying on planes with fewer than 31 seats, claiming they aren't as safe as large aircraft.
The Air Line Pilots Association, on the same day, urged the FAA to bring commuter airline regulations up to the standards of larger carriers.
Courtney said about half of the 51 flights leaving Roanoke daily are the smaller aircraft. Some planes have as few as 19 seats. The airport spokesman said he couldn't recall the last time a two-engine plane flying from Roanoke lost an engine.
He estimated that, nationwide, only one or two twin-engine planes a month have an engine fail. "This is relatively rare," he said.
Courtney defended the safety record of small aircraft and said the Embraer-Brasilia, the type of 30-seat plane flown by ASA, "is known for its performance."
Minutes after the plane had landed, Gwin puffed cigarettes outside the airport terminal.
"I've enjoyed flying in the past, but this kind of shook me up," he said. "I feel like chain smoking."
He wasn't worried enough to cancel his trip to Atlanta.
"Passenger Gwin, this is your final chance to board," said a voice over the airport's intercom system.
"Gotta go," Gwin said, then hustled inside to catch another plane.
by CNB