N. C. copter crash probed; pilot, 4 race fans died
     MONROE, NC. - Investigators examined the wreckage of a helicopter
 to determine why it was flying low enough to strike a power line Mon-
 day crashing on a highway and killing all five people on board.
     The helicopter should have been flying at about 500 feet, more
 than three times the height of the wire, said Butch Wilson, lead
 investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.
     "He could have been trying to make an emergency landing," he
 said.
     The helicopter missed traffic on US 74, which is used by
 vacationers traveling between Charlotte and beaches in North
 Carolina and South Carolina.
     "Its a wonder that there were no motor vehicles involved. Cars
 were driving by while it was coming down on the highway," said
 sheriff Frank McGuirt.
     Pilot John Thomas Elliott, 49, was transporting passengers to
 the Monroe Airport after Sunday's Coca-cola 600 Winston Cup race at
 the Charlotte Motor Speedway about 30 miles away. The stock car race
 ended about two hours before the crash.
     The airport is a few miles from where the helicopter went down.
 Also killed were passengers Craig Goodman Rudolph, 37, Alexandra
 Johanna Schiffers, 30, Kevin Dadey 25, and his wife, Pamela, 26, all
 from Charlotte.
     To avoid getting stuck in traffic jams, some racing fans like to
 take advantage of the steady stream of helicopters that offer shuttle
 service to and from the track on race days.
     The crash closed the highway in both directions for several
 hours. One of the westbound lanes, which will carry thousands of
 vacationers back from the beaches later Monday was open by dawn.
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   Concorde lands safely after problems spark London airport alert
     LONDON - May 25, 1998 10:56 p.m. EDT - A British Airways Concorde
 sparked a full alert at Heathrow Airport Monday night when it
 reported wing problems shortly after taking off for New York
 and was forced to turn back.
     Emergency crews were standing by when Flight BA003, carrying 53
 passengers and nine crew members bound for Kennedy Airport, landed
 safely at Heathrow at about 10 p.m. local time.
     The decision to return to Heathrow came an hour into the flight,
 after the pilot reported that a small section of the supersonic
 plane's right wing had come loose.
     "The Concorde pilot decided an emergency landing was not neces-
 sary but it was felt all the emergency services should be alerted,"
 a Heathrow spokeswoman said, speaking on customary condition of
 anonymity.
     British Airways spokeswoman Laura De Vere stressed the return to
 Heathrow was "precautionary" and said engineers were investigating
 the problem and checking the company's six other Concorde jets for
 similar faults.
     Passengers of the BA 003 flight were transferred to nearby hotels
 for the night and were expected to leave Tuesday. No delays were
 expected for other Concorde flights, De Vere said.
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