3 feared dead as biplane crashes off Maryland beach
     OCEAN CITY, Md. (August 25, 1997 00:34 a.m. EDT) -- A small bi-
 plane on a sightseeing tour Sunday crashed into the Atlantic Ocean
 off the Ocean City beach as stunned onlookers watched from the
 shore. Three people were missing and feared dead.
     Divers and search vessels located plane's engine in about 32
 feet of water, but were unable to find any of the three people
 aboard, said Chief Petty Officer Gary Nestle of the U.S. Coast
 Guard.
     The crash happened at 2:25 p.m. The search was called off at
 about 9 p.m. because of darkness and was to resume at 6 a.m. Mon-
 day, Nestle said.
     The biplane had taken off from Ocean City airport on a sight-
 seeing tour and was to return there, Nestle said.  It went down
 nearly a mile off shore.
     The cause of the crash was not immediately known. Witnesses
 claimed the plane was doing acrobatic maneuvers, police said.
     "He fell off to the left and did a spiral clockwise, and he
 couldn't pull out of it and he went right into the ocean," Ed
 Fritz told WMAR-TV. "I couldn't believe my eyes."
     "Everyone seemed to be watching," witness John Freeland told
 WMAR. "My daughter-in-law was pointing out to my grandchildren (to)
 watch the airplane" when it suddenly plunged into the water.
     The pilot was identified as John McLaughlin, 44, of Florida.
 The passengers were identified as Crystal Blankinbiller, 25, of
 Laureldale, Pa., and Judy Lesher, 25, of Fleetwood, Pa.
 -------------------------------------------------------
           Lost luggage becomes bargain hunters' dream
     SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (August 24, 1997 6:16 p.m. EDT) -- Bargain
 hunters were packing the aisles Sunday at the Unclaimed Baggage
 Center, a one-of-a-kind department store where lost airline lug-
 gage starts a new life.
     The shop was opened in 1970 by Doyle Owens, an insurance man
 who sold lost property for bus companies. Airlines were a natural
 progression. The firm is now run by his son, Bryan, who has added
 two other branches.
     The Unclaimed Baggage Center refuses to identify its airline
 suppliers, saying contracts with them are confidential. British
 Airways is not among them. It sends lost baggage to Heathrow where,
 after all tracing is exhausted, spectacles go to Third World coun-
 tries and suitable books to children's homes. All other unclaimed
 items are sent to Wentworth Auction Gallery with proceeds going to
 charity.
 By IAN BRODIE, Times of London
 ------------------------------
       Iowa man killed in crash of small plane near Brownsville
     BROWNSVILLE, Tenn. -- It could take five weeks to determine the
 cause of a small airpiane crash that killed an Iowa man, the civil
 defense director said.
    The wreckage of the twin-engine plane was found Saturday morning,
 and investigators believe it crashed Friday night.
    Killed was Allan Todd, 59, of Ankey, Iowa.
    Investigators with the Federal Aviation Administration and Natio-
 nal Transportation Safety Board gathered evidence at the crash site
 Sunday morning, said Jane Waldrop, Brownsville's civil defense
 director.
     "Basieally, they told me that they would take everything back to
 the office and look it over carefully," Waldrop said.
     Todd, owner of Todd's Flying Service, was flying from Des Moines
 to Tuscaloosa, Ala., with a load of automobile parts.  He was the
 only person aboard the 1964 Beech Baron plane when it crashed out-
 side this town 55 miles northeast of Memphis.
 ---------------------------------------------
            UPS makes final contract offer to 2,000 pilots
     LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- United Parcel Service made what it termed a
 final contract offer to union pilots Sunday, including pay raises
 and pension improvements.
     Bob Miller, president of the Independent Pilots Association,
 said he would present the offer to the 2,000 UPS pilots but would
 remain neutral on its acceptance.
     Tbe pilots, who had refused to cross picket lines during the 15-
 day Teamsters strike, resumed talks with UPS on Sunday after a
 three-month recess. The proposed contract would give flight captains
 a 34 percent pay raise during the next five years, from $153,000 a
 year to $202,000. Pay for co-pilots would rise 56 percent, from
 $84,700 to $132,000, while flight engineers would receive a 94 per-
 cent increase, from $48,392 to $94,000.
     The minimum pension paid to pilots would be $100,000 per year
 after 25 years of service for their lifetime,
     Union spokesman Mark Atwell has said he believed last week's
 settlement with the Teamsters gave the pilots more leverage. The
 union has said the Teamsters would honor a strike if pilots walked
 out.
 --------------------------------------
 Knoxville News Sentinel 25 August 1997
--- DB 1.39/004487
---------------