when did this happen?Flora
----- Original Message -----
From: "Philip D. Carnahan" <pcarna(a)pacific.net>
To: <CARNAHAN-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2000 7:55 AM
Subject: [CARNAHAN-L] Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan Dead
Carnahan believed dead in plane crash; Wilson becomes acting
governor
By Staff Reporters
Of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan died in a plane crash in Jefferson County
Monday night
in the closing weeks of a heated
battle for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican John Ashcroft.
Carnahan's son, Roger, and his senior campaign staffer, Chris Sifford,
also
were on board the plane, Sifford's cousin,
Frank Sifford, told the Associated Press. Roger Carnahan, also known
as
Randy, was his father's regular pilot on
campaign trips.
Lt. Governor Roger Wilson told reporters at a press conference in
Jefferson City
shortly after 2 a.m. today that he
would be the acting governor until it was confirmed that Carnahan is
dead.
Wilson noted that the state Constitution
mandated that move.
Six members of a disability board, including Speaker of the House Steve
Gaw,
D-Moberly, and state Sen. Ed Quick,
D-Liberty, president pro tem of the Senate, met at about midnight in
Jefferson City. In accordance with state law, they
signed and distributed a letter that confirmed that the governor was
unable to discharge the powers and duties of his
office.
Wilson called Carnahan "a great man, a respected man," adding, "He did so
many things for the state of Missouri."
"I would like to ask permission to lean on about 5 million Missourians'
shoulders," Wilson said.
The governor's office press said in a statement that Carnahan, his son,
Roger,
and senior campaign adviser Sifford's
plane had crashed and that there were no survivors, but that the
identities of the passengers had not been confirmed.
However, Sifford's cousin, Frank Sifford, confirmed the victims'
identities.
``We don't have any information, just that (Chris) was on the plane with
Governor Carnahan and it crashed near Pevely
and there are no survivors,'' said Sifford, a Stoddard County
commissioner.
Frank Sifford, in a phone interview with The Associated Press, said Roger,
who was
known as Randy, was flying the plane.
He said Roy Temple, the executive director of the Missouri Democratic
Party, delivered the news to the family. Temple
and Chris Sifford, former chief of staff for Carnahan, grew up
together.
The plane, a twin engine Cessna aircraft, left St. Louis Parks Airport in
Cahokia
at about 7 p.m., said officials with
the Federal Aviation Administration. The plane crashed about 7:30
p.m.
near Goldman in Jefferson County, about 25 miles
south of St. Louis.
Search called off after midnight
Capt. Ed Kemp of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department said residents
in
the area called authorities about 7:30 p.m.
to report that a low flying plane went into a screaming dive and
crashed
in a fireball on a wooded hill.
Kemp said rescuers began finding human remains at about 9:30. About 100
rescuers
were on the scene searching in heavy
fog and light rain. They also found bits and pieces of the airplane,
including landing gear and a cylinder head.
At around 12:30 a.m., authorities called off the search for the night
because it
was too dark and too dangerous.
``It's a very rural area, heavily wooded with rock bluffs,'' Jefferson
County Sheriff Sgt. Ed Kemp said.
The governor's wife, Jean, was at the governor's mansion, security
officials said.
President Clinton called Mrs. Carnahan to express condolences. Clinton was
in Sharm
el-Sheik, Egypt, where he was
meeting with Mideast leaders.
Vice President Al Gore, who was in St. Louis for tonight's scheduled
presidential debate, telephoned Mrs. Carnahan after
the news broke, aides to Gore said.
Gore and his campaign chairman, William Daley, would talk later today
about how to
proceed with the third and final
presidential debate scheduled for tonight at St. Louis'
Washington
University.
Catherine Hanaway, Missouri coordinator for the Bush-Cheney campaign, said
discussions were taking place within the
campaign about the possibility of postponing or canceling
tonight's
debate.
Hanaway said a Webster University rally for Republican women with Laura
Bush had
been canceled. The Bushes were staying
at a private residence in the St. Louis area.
The governor and Randy Carnahan were supposed to be in New Madrid, Mo.,
for a
political event and were to return to St.
Louis today. Sources said Carnahan left a fund-raiser in the Central
West
End at about 6:30 Monday night.
Sifford, 36, was the governor's campaign adviser and his former chief of
staff.
Carnahan, who is completing his second term as governor, won the
Democratic
nomination for U.S. Senate in August and has
been engaged in hotly-contested battle with Ashcroft. The race is
considered key in both parties' efforts to control the
Senate.
After hearing the news, the Ashcroft campaign suspended all campaign
advertising
and canceled the senator's appearances.
``We hope and pray this tragedy has not occurred,'' Ayres said. ``Out of
respect for Governor Carnahan and his family
we've suspended the campaign indefinitely.''
Write-in candidacy is impractical
Carnahan's name will stay on the ballot, said Secretary of State Bekki
Cook,
because the deadline for changing the the
Nov. 7 election ballot was last Friday.
``This means there is nothing we can do about Governor Carnahan appearing
on the
ballot in the Senate race,'' she said.
Jim Grebing, a spokesman for Cook's office, said the only scenario for
another
Democratic candidate would be a write-in
campaign ``and that's not practical.''
Avid flyers, the Carnahans often flew around the state for campaign
business. Mel
Carnahan, 66, had been involved in two
weekend debates with Ashcroft, R-Mo., his senatorial opponent, and
was
expected to attend the presidential debates
tonight at Washington University.
Monday morning, Mel Carnahan called Doug Morgan to express his condolences
in the
loss of Morgan's father, Dan Morgan, a
local businessman. Carnahan had been expected to attend the funeral
this
morning.
Crash is reminiscent of Litton tragedy
On Aug. 3, 1976, Missouri Rep. Jerry Litton, 38, died with his family in a
fiery
plane crash on the way to a victory
celebration the night he won the Democratic nomination for the U.S.
Senate.
Litton had voted at home in Chillicothe, in northwestern Missouri, and
planned to
fly to Kansas City that night for what
was to be a victory celebration. With him were his wife, Sharon
Litton,
36, and their children Linda, 13, and Scott, 12.
Piloting the twin-engine Beechcraft Baron was Paul Rupp Jr. of
Chillicothe. Rupp was accompanied by his son, Paul Rupp
III.
Shortly after takeoff, Litton's plane banked sharply to the left, crashed
and
exploded in an empty field, killing all
aboard. Investigators found that a crankshaft in the plane's left
engine
broke, causing the craft to go out of control.
(Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press.)
Phil Carnahan
Ukiah, CA
http://www.pacificsites.net/~pcarna