AP: JULY 26, 10:13 ET
FedEx Cargo Jet Crashes in Florida
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A FedEx Boeing 727 cargo jet crashed and burned short of the runway Friday at Tallahassee Airport. The three-member crew escaped serious injury, officials said.
The three-engine jet, FedEx Fight 1478 from Memphis, Tenn., landed a half mile short of the runway at 5:43 a.m., said Kathleen Bergen, a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman at regional offices in Atlanta.
It wasn't immediately know why it didn't reach the runway.
"We can't speculate on the cause,'' said Jess Bunn, the FedEx spokesman at company headquarters in Memphis. "The National Transportation Safety Board and FedEx's own safety team will be investigating.''
Brooke Wilson, spokeswoman at Tallahassee Memorial Health Care hospital, said the three were in fair condition. They were being checked for broken bones; they did not suffer burns, she said.
A mass of metal could be seen on the runway about a half-mile from the terminal Friday morning. Television footage showed orange flames burning in the center of the wreckage at dawn.
David Pollard, the airport's operations superintendent, said the plane was under the control of air traffic controllers in Jacksonville at the time of the crash. The Tallahassee control tower does not begin normal operations until 6 a.m., he said.
Pollard said there was fog in the area at the time of the crash but he had no indication that the weather played a factor.
Officials with the city of Tallahassee, which owns the airport, said it would remain closed until the wreckage is cleared, possibly by Friday afternoon. At least 15 flights were expected to be affected. The airport is served by Delta Air Lines, US Airways, AirTran Airways and Northwest Airlines.