3 N.C. OFFICERS KILLED IN PLANE CRASH

An off-duty Charlotte-Mecklenburg police sergeant and two other law
enforcement officers were killed Wednesday during an air search for
marijuana in Eastern North Carolina.

Sgt. Anthony Scott Futrell, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police veteran, was
flying a single-engine plane when it crashed in Chowan County -- 240 miles
northeast of Charlotte -- at about 3:30 p.m., authorities said.

The flight was part of a statewide drug eradication program that uses small
aircraft from the Civil Air Patrol for surveillance flights, Chowan County
Sheriff Fred Spruill said.

Futrell had headed the Charlotte-Mecklenburg department's aviation unit
since December, police said. Members of that unit, which patrols the county
using two helicopters, were with Futrell's family late Wednesday.

"Scott was a good pilot. He's careful, competent and had a good bit of
experience," said Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Capt. Mike Faulkenberry, a
close friend who flew with Futrell in the Civil Air Patrol. "You realize it
could happen, but I never would have dreamed this."

Futrell, who was in his late 30s, was married and had a 12-year-old son and
17-year-old daughter, Faulkenberry said. He joined the force before the
city and county departments merged in 1993 and learned to fly in 1995 or
1996, Faulkenberry said.

"He was way beyond a good pilot," Faulkenberry said. "He was just a good
guy. A leader. A motivator. He adored his family."

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation
Administration were both investigating the crash, Spruill said.

Richard Edward Ashley Jr., a 34-year-old Chowan County sheriff's deputy,
and Boone police Maj. Robert Kennedy, 46, also were killed in the crash.

Kennedy was the flight's trained spotter for marijuana plants, Spruill
said. Ashley was to tell deputies on the ground the location of any drugs.

"This was a bad day for North Carolina," the sheriff said. "We lost three
good men."

Witnesses said they heard the engine of the Cessna 172-S sputter and cut
out just before it crashed in a cotton field at around 3:30 p.m., Spruill said.

There was no communication from the pilot that the plane was in trouble, he
said.

"I don't think they had time to say anything," Spruill said.

The plane had made a flight earlier in the day without incident. It had
been aloft about an hour in its second flight, he said.

It was one of two aircraft being used for drug surveillance flights.

The second plane, also being flown by law enforcement officers, returned to
Northeastern Regional Airport in Edenton, where both planes had taken off
earlier in the day. -- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS ARTICLE.