NTSB TO RELEASE FACTUAL REPORTS ON CRASH OF AIRCRAFT CARRYING SENATOR WELLSTONE, 7 OTHERS

As part of its continuing investigation into the crash of a Raytheon (Beechcraft) King Air 100 aircraft (N41BE) near Eveleth, Minnesota on October 25, 2002, the National Transportation Safety Board will open a public docket and release a series of factual reports on Friday, February 21, 2003, at 11:00 am.

The aircraft, operated by Aviation Charter, Inc., and carrying Senator Paul Wellstone, five other passengers and 2 crewmembers, was on a flight from St. Paul to Eveleth, when it crashed on approach to Eveleth-Virginia Airport. The aircraft was destroyed and there were no survivors.

The information to be released is factual in nature and does not provide any analysis. It will include investigative group reports in the following areas - Operations and Human Performance, Aircraft Performance, Air Traffic Control, Meteorology, Survival Factors, and Powerplants .

Additional material will be added to the docket as it becomes available. Analysis of the accident, along with conclusions and a determination of probable cause, will come at a later date when the final report on the investigation is completed.

For news media representatives, a CD-ROM containing the docket material will be available from the Office of Public Affairs, NTSB Headquarters (6th floor), 490 L'Enfant Plaza, SW, Washington, DC, beginning at 11:00 a.m., on Friday, February 21, 2003. Docket material also can be obtained from the NTSB's Public Inquiries Branch by calling (202) 314-6551 or from General Microfilm, Inc. (301) 929-8888.

This will be a document release only; no interviews will be conducted.

NTSB Press Contacts:
Paul Schlamm
(202) 314-6100