My Condolences to all... sad day indeed.
Pilot of plane in NC crash originally from Arlington
01/09/2003
By YOLANDA WALKER / WFAA-TV
Katie Leslie, 25, grew up in Arlington, Texas, the middle child of five.
Friends said she knew from an early age what she wanted to do in life.
"At 14, I believe, she told her teacher she wanted to become a pilot," longtime neighbor and friend Ron Smith said. "I was fortunate to take her flying on one of her first trips at 16."
Leslie died Wednesday morning in the crash of Air Midwest Flight 5481, which crashed shortly after takeoff in Charlotte, N.C. Smith is speaking for Leslie's family, who are all too distraught to talk about the tragedy.
"They're very close," he said. "They've pretty much hulled themselves away from the rest of the world to get through this grief."
The flight was leaving Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, bound for South Carolina. Though the weather was clear, witnesses said the plane went straight upward after takeoff.
"It looked like the propeller on the right side stopped, and it rolled ... and it came straight down, nose first," witness Tracy Right said. "Instant fireball."
Officials said once airborne, the Beech 1900 twin-engine turboprop flipped upside down and at full throttle, clipping the edge of a hangar. All 19 passengers and two crew members died instantly.
Said aviation consultant John Nance, "some of the initial things you look at - was there an engine failure that could cause a loss of directional control? Was there some sort of flight control problem in the elevator? Or was the airplane not loaded properly, and the pilots couldn't control it because of weight?"
Officials said Leslie did radio for help before the crash.
"The pilot declared an emergency before the accident," said NTSB board member John Goglia. "So, it's not clear what that means yet, but at least we know there was some sort of catastrophic event that led her to declare an emergency."
Meanwhile, friends in Arlington recall memories of how Katie touched their lives.
"She was a really neat kid," Smith said. "(She) comes from a very strong, strong family - good faith."