Flight was Part 91 repositioning, two crew dead, no pax or folks on ground hurt

A Pinnacle Airlines Bombardier CRJ-200 regional jet operated for Northwest Airlink, the regional arm of Northwest Airlines, crashed into a Missouri residential area on Thursday evening. The aircraft was on a Part 91 repositioning flight from Arkansas to Minnesota. The two crew are reported dead. There were no passengers on the flight, and no one on the ground has been reported injured.

The aircraft (file photo, below) crashed into a neighborhood on the east side of Jefferson City (MO) just after 2200, near Eastland Avenue, according to Associated Press reports. It plowed into two garages, but did not hit any of the houses.  Jefferson City Police Capt. Michael Smith said witnesses reported they saw the aircraft on fire shortly before it crashed.

"I am greatly saddened by the loss of our crew," said Philip Trenary, chief executive of Pinnacle Airlines. "My prayers and the prayers of all Pinnacle people are with their family and loved ones." In a press release issued by the airline, the pilots were identified as Captain Jesse Rhodes and First Officer Richard Peter Cesarz. Captain Rhodes joined Pinnacle in February 2003. Previously, he had been a Captain at another regional airline and had accumulated over 6,700 flight hours. First Officer Cesarz joined Pinnacle in June 2004.

Local resident John Baysinger told the News Tribune in Jefferson City the aircraft came down in his back yard. "When I looked outside the window, the whole back of my house was on fire," he said. Another resident, Marc Powers, also reported hearing the crash about eight blocks down from Baysinger's home. "There was a loud crash and that was followed by numerous pops, like someone was discharging a firearm," said Powers. When he went to see what had made the noise, he saw the wreck and noticed the fuselage separated from the cockpit.

Yet another resident, Lesley Ammikus, saw the aircraft before it went down. "I saw it right at the trees. I thought, `That's way too loud and too low,' and it just hit," Ammikus said. "It went boom when it hit."

The CRJ-200 can seat 52 pax, is 87 feet long, 20 feet high and has a wingspan of more than 69 feet. At press time the NTSB was investigating the accident.

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 8396A        Make/Model: CL6       Description: BOMBARDIER CL-600-2B19
  Date: 10/14/2004     Time: 0316

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: Fatal     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Destroyed

LOCATION
  City: JEFFERSON CITY              State: MO   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  PINNACLE AIRLINES, FLG3701, BOMBARDIER CL600 ACFT, CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN
  CIRCUMSTANCES, THE TWO PERSONS ON BOARD WERE FATALLY INJURED AND THE
  AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED, JEFFERSON CITY, MO

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   2
                 # Crew:   2     Fat:   2     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   

WEATHER: NOT REPORTED                                                               
                                                                                    
OTHER DATA
  Activity: Unknown      Phase: Unknown      Operation: General Aviation

  Departed: LITTLE ROCK, AR             Dep Date:    Dep. Time:     
  Destination: MINNEAPOLIS, MN          Flt Plan: IFR          Wx Briefing: U
  Last Radio Cont: 3 SOUTH OF JEFFERSON CITY
  Last Clearance: UNK

  FAA FSDO: KANSAS CITY, MO  (CE05)               Entry date: 10/15/2004

FMI: www.nwairlink.com