EAGLE CRASH . . . FEDS TOUGHEN STANDARDS

In the wake of last night's American Eagle crash in North Carolina -- the second commuter airline crash this fall -- Transportation Secretary Federico Pena today declared that such small aircraft have 100 days to meet the same safety standards imposed on larger planes. "We are very troubled by the number of accidents we've had this year," Pena said after visiting the crash site near Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The rule changes -- which follow last month's warning by the International Airline Passengers Association urging fliers to avoid all flights on planes with under 31 seats -- tighten safety inspections, reduce the number of hours pilots can fly and require dispatchers to help crews check weather, routes and plane weight and balance. (Small-plane pilots often do all this themselves.) At yesterday's crash site, crews hacked through dense forest to remove burned bodies from the wreckage of the two-engine Jetstream turboprop, the smallest type flown by American Eagle. Fifteen of 20 people on board died. A larger American Eagle craft crashed in Indiana Oct. 31, killing all 68 aboard. A Jetstream 41 -- similar to the plane in the North Carolina accident -- crashed Jan. 7 near Columbus, Ohio, killing five people; authorities believed pilot error caused it.