CA Identifies Flight Crew Members

Colgan Air has confirmed the identities of the two presumed deceased pilots aboard the repositioning flight that crashed after takeoff today from Hyannis, Mass. There were no passengers aboard the aircraft, a Beech 1900D. In the cockpit were Capt. Scott Knabe of Cincinnati, Ohio, and First Officer Steven Dean of Euless, Texas.

"We at Colgan are devastated and saddened by the loss of Scott and Steve, two well-respected and well-liked crewmembers. On behalf of everyone at our company, I wish to express our deepest personal sympathy to their families and friends. All are in our prayers," said Colgan President Mike Colgan.

"We do not know why this accident occurred, nor will we speculate about the cause, which is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. Colgan is cooperating fully with the NTSB," he said.

Scott Knabe, 39, was hired as a first officer at Colgan in 2001 and upgraded to captain in January of this year. He was based at Hyannis and had 2,886 hours of flying time, 1,358 of them in the Beech 1900. He earned an accounting degree from Ohio State, held an airframe and powerplant license and performed aerial surveys before joining Colgan.

Steven Dean, 38, was hired by Colgan in 2002. He also was based in Hyannis and had 2,500 total hours of flying time with 682 in the Beech 1900. Before joining Colgan he was a flight instructor on single-engine aircraft, a pilot for a Dallas company and a flight simulator instructor.

Official confirmation of fatalities falls under the jurisdiction of the Yarmouth, Mass. Police Department.

The aircraft involved in the accident was a 19-seat Beech 1900D, tail number N240CJ. It was on a repositioning flight from Hyannis to Albany. It was manufactured in 1993 and acquired by Colgan in January from Raytheon Aircraft Co., the manufacturer. The aircraft has logged 16,503 hours, 1,219 of them by Colgan. The Beech 1900D was first certified for service by the Federal Aviation Administration in 1991. Raytheon Aircraft reports that 439 units have been built and that the aircraft model has over 1 million flight hours in service around the world.

FMI: www.colganair.com