Fire and smoke billow from an Emery Worldwide DC-8 cargo plane after the plane crashed into a auto wrecking yard in Rancho Cordova, Calif., Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2000.

The FAA has the power to ground a carrier, but the airline continued to fly. "Revoking a carrier's certificate is the most serious action we can take, and the agency has to have basically ironclad proof because we almost certainly will be forced to defend our action in court," the FAA said.

On Feb. 16, 2000, Emery Flight 17 crashed in an automobile salvage yard while returning to Sacramento's Mather Airport for an emergency landing, killing captain Kevin Stables, 43; first officer George Land, 35; and second officer Russell Hicks, 38.

"Hey, you're hanging by that bolt, you know," the first officer said after takeoff that evening. The reply from the cockpit: "Yeah. Jesus nut."

Five minutes later the second officer said, "We're sinking. We're going down, guys," and in moments the giant DC-8 pummeled land filled with people hours earlier.

The NTSB said a loosened elevator bolt triggered a domino effect that forced the plane to fly in a severe nose-up position after takeoff: ''The disconnection was caused by the failure to properly secure and inspect the attachment bolt."

In December 2002, Emery returned its operating certificate to the FAA. Rachford is now lead plaintiff in a lawsuit that alleges Emery breached its contract with flight crews when it shut down and "deliberately permitted its maintenance operations to deteriorate." The company disputes the suit.

Since Emery Flight 17, 66 cargo planes have fatally crashed in the U.S.

"Nobody cares," said Rachford, still a cargo pilot. "Until we wind up wiping out a schoolyard, then all of a sudden everyone will be on board. Then everyone will say, 'We told you so, we told you so.' I swear to God, until we kill 250 or 300 people because a plane crashes somewhere, people won't do anything."

A COMMUNITY SHAKEN

In Shady Shores, Texas, Nicholas Hibberd's final flight is a case study into the dangers of the industry.

His 1979 Cessna 402C had serious maintenance issues before it crashed near a house, hurling debris through a bedroom window and narrowly missing a couple inside -- Joleen Pomar, a billing manager for Waste Management, and boyfriend Rusty Elliott, a sales associate for Wal-Mart.

The plane came to rest in the garage of their home.

"She comes running down the hall, wanting to know what happened. I just told her to call 911," Elliott said.

"It blew big holes in the house," Pomar said. "It's one of those things you don't want to think about a lot."