DCA88MA008

A recently discharged usair employee boarded psa flt 1771 after having left a goodbye message with friends. He bypassed security and carried abd a borrowed 44 caliber pistol. A note written by this psgr, found in the wreckage, threatened his former supervisor at usair, who was aboard the flt. At 1613, the plt rptd to oakland ARTCC that he had an emergency and that gunshots had been fired in the airplane. Within 25 seconds, oakland ctr controllers observed that psa 1771 had begun a rapid descent fm which it did not recover. Witnesses on the gnd said the airplane was intact and there was no evidence of fire before the airplane struck the gnd in a steep nose-down attitude. The CVR tape revealed the sounds of a scuffle and several shots which were apparently fired in or near the cockpit. The pistol was found in the wreckage with 6 expended rounds. FAA rules permitted airline employees to bypass security checkpoints.