`Miracle' By Pilot Saved Lives In Crash

CARROLLTON, Ga. - A survivor of a fiery commuter-plane crash says he owes his life to the pilot, who was killed after maneuvering over houses, trees and power lines to the relative safety of a hayfield.

Pilot Ed Gannaway and four passengers died after the Atlantic Southeast Airlines turboprop crashed and broke into three large pieces yesterday. But the 24 other people aboard the plane survived.

Looking at the burned-out wreckage of Flight 529, it was hard to understand how anyone survived.

"It's amazing that anyone got out alive," said state emergency-management director Gary McConnell. "It's a miracle."

"The pilot seemed to do an outstanding job of bringing that plane down as best he could, and I think that's what saved most of us," said passenger Chuck Pfisterer.

"He missed the wires and landing on the houses, and found an opening," said Frances Boone, who lives near the crash site. He "had to be a marvelous pilot."

The plane left a scar in the hayfield, indicating it barely cleared trees.

John Hammerschmidt, an investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), said today that a blade had snapped off the left propeller of the plane, but it was unclear whether the missing blade contributed to the crash or when it snapped off. A piece of the blade was found in the wreckage, but most of it was missing, he said.

John Tweedy of Gaithersburg, Md., a passenger, said he was sitting near the front of the plane when the left engine "just exploded."

After the crash, he said, "My right ankle was stuck. There was smoke and flames and I said, `I need to get out of here.' "

He freed his ankle and suddenly found himself on the wing. He fell to the ground and started walking.

"I was out of the plane within 30 seconds," said Tweedy, 38.

Passenger Kevin Bubier of Waterboro, Maine, said his pants leg was burning.

"I was trying to take off my shoes and my pants," said Bubier, 37. "There were other people who were worse. They were totally engulfed (in flames)."

But onlookers were amazed by how little other survivors were injured.

"There was one guy . . . he just had a scratch or two," said John Wright, who lives near the crash site. "I didn't realize he was a passenger. He was helping with the water hose on the fire truck."

Polona Jeter, who lives nearby, said she saw the front of the plane "rolling and tumbling and on fire" as the aircraft came apart.

One injured man arrived on her front porch and used the phone to leave a message for his wife in Maine. "His clothes were burned off. His undershorts were all that was left," she said.

The flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder have been recovered from the crash site and sent by plane to a laboratory in Washington, D.C., NTSB spokesman Alan Pollock said today.

There were 26 passengers and three crew members on the flight from Atlanta to Gulfport, Miss. One passenger was dead at the scene, a married couple died later at separate hospitals, and a fourth passenger died today. At least eight people were in critical condition today at burn centers.

The Brazilian-made Embraer 120 two-engine turboprop was about 15 minutes into its 362-mile flight when the pilot radioed he was having engine problems, said Christy Williams, a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman.

The weather was cloudy and rainy at the time.

The Atlanta-based airline passed an extensive FAA inspection in May, said President John Beiser. "We run a safe airline and will continue to do so," he said.

Gannaway, 45, of Dublin, Ga., had 10,000 hours of flight time and an exemplary record, said Tilden Shanahan, ASA's vice president of flight operations.