Pilot in Crash Fatal to Lawmaker Wasn’t Rated
<i> United Press International</i>
WASHINGTON — The pilot of a small airplane that crashed in a wooded area in Mississippi last year, killing Rep. Larkin Smith (R-Miss.), was not qualified to fly in the weather conditions he encountered, a federal agency said Friday.
In its final report, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that pilot Chuck Vierling was not “instrument rated†to fly into hazy conditions he encountered near New Augusta, Miss., on the night of Aug. 13, 1989, with Smith aboard.
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