CORAOPOLIS, Pa. — The families of 132 passengers and crew killed when a USAir flight crashed near Pittsburgh International Airport 20 years ago gathered on the anniversary of the tragedy.
The group known as the Flight 427 Air Disaster Support League met at the DoubleTree near the airport Monday to mark the occasion.
"One of the first things that is apparent is that somebody else is going through this," said Dennis Connolly, the twin brother of one of the victims.
"We suddenly met other people and talked to them for the first time," said Luke Joyner, a victim's nephew.
The group had stopped raising money, and members said it has run its course after pushing for a federal law passed in 1996, the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act. It requires government agencies, airlines and others to provide prompt information to families of crash victims.
The Boeing 737 nose-dived into a hill at about 7 p.m. on Sept. 8, 1994, after a valve stuck, causing a rudder to malfunction.
The National Transportation Safety Board crash investigation took 4.5 years -- the longest ever for the agency.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
WPXI
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