Former Catholic Charities head among jet crash victims

Published: 2006-08-28

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CNS) -- A retired Catholic Charities executive, Arnold Andrews, was among the 49 people who died Aug. 27 in a commuter jet crash in Lexington, Ky., said Catholic Charities USA president Father Larry Snyder. "Arnold was a true leader in the Catholic Charities movement. ... His commitment to people who are poor and vulnerable was an inescapable part of who he was and was evident in even the briefest conversation with him," Father Snyder said. Andrews, 64, retired last year as executive director of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Fla. From 1999 to 2005 he was a member of the national organization's board of trustees. The early Sunday morning crash occurred at Lexington's Blue Grass Airport when Comair Flight 5191 mistakenly tried to take off from Runway 26, a 3,500-foot general aviation runway, instead of Runway 22, the 7,000-foot strip it was supposed to use. According to experts, the commuter jet involved, a CRJ-100, needs at least 5,000 feet to get off the ground with a full load of 50 passengers.

Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .