Second Disaster At Airport In 13 Days

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31881, 8 January 1969, Page 11

Second Disaster At Airport In 13 Days

t N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright)

BRADFORD (Pennsylvania), January 7.

Aviation experts are investigating the second crash at Bradford Airport in 13 days involving Gonvair 580 airliners of Allegheny Airlines. Both planes crashed as they approached the hilltop airport while snow was falling.

There are 17 known survivors from among the 28 persons in the ; latest crash, last night, in which both the captain of the aircraft and his co-pilot were killed. In the earlier disaster, on Christmas Eve, 20 persons were killed. Questioned about the proximity of the two crashes, an Allegheny Airlines spokes-

I man said today: “We will be ; looking into it very care- • 1 fully. We can make no other I comment in the meantime.” I Last night’s crash occurred i on a golf course a few miles west of the airport, as the - ' Convair was making an in- 1 I strument landing: the airport does not have a radar control : . tower. 11 1 - One of the survivors, Mr I 5 J Sandy Cherico, said: "There l ! was no panic. It all happened; ■ - too fast. The no-smoking sign . i 1 . had already come on and the [ •[stewardess was checking the' [ seat-belts. I i

“I knew something was wrong when the plane started to go up in the air. We hit some trees, then we turned over. "1 was suspended upside down by my safety-bell. There was a young girl across the aisle from me who was alive but could not get out [of her seat. I unbuckled her [belt and pushed her out the 1 window." Mr Cherico added that he and the girl helped other [ passengers out and “stood them up against trees to see lif they were all right."