Release #82.c
August 16, 2001

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Elizabeth Hallworth, an American Eagle Airlines first officer and resident of Gardena, CA, was awarded a Superior Airmanship Award from the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA). The award was presented on Aug. 15, 2001, at the Association’s annual Air Safety Forum.

ALPA honored Hallworth for her exemplary actions to help land a SAAB 340, which experienced catastrophic engine failure at night during a December 2000 flight to Monterey, CA. The captain of Flight 3215, John Vreeken, also was honored with a Superior Airmanship Award.

Flight 3215 was just north of Paso Robles when a loud pop was heard in conjunction with a thud felt through the airframe. Warning lights and panel instruments indicated that the engine was no longer producing power. Capt. Vreeken shut off the engine. He then positioned the condition lever in order to shut off the fuel and feather the propeller. Neither this nor using the manual feather switch caused the propeller to move to the feathered position. Capt. Vreeken and Hallworth declared an emergency and prepared to land at the airport in Paso Robles. Due to weather conditions, the pilots had to initiate an instrument approach, and they were forced to circle to land without the help of air traffic controllers. The aircraft landed safely with no injuries.

Hallworth joined American Eagle in March 2000. Previously, she was a civilian flight instructor. Hallworth currently lives in Gardena and is based at Los Angeles International Airport. She received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and statistics from Swarthmore College in her hometown state of Pennsylvania.

ALPA is the union representing most commercial airline pilots in North America, and is the industry’s leading safety advocate. It represents 66,000 pilots at 47 carriers in the U.S. and Canada.

ALPA Contacts: John Mazor, Anya Piazza (703) 481-4440