In the 20 years since their daughter was one of 21 people who died on a plane that crashed after taking off in Charlotte, Tereasa and Doug Shepherd have learned “grief doesn’t go away; it becomes a part of you.”

Their 18-year-old daughter Christiana was returning to school after a Christmas break with her parents. She was flying on the plane that crashed on Jan. 8, 2003.

Marking the anniversary of the tragedy on Sunday, Christiana’s parents Tereasa Doug Shepherd released a statement through Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman, the law firm that handled the family’s case against the airline.

“Though it seems impossible, we’re approaching 20 years since the last time we said goodbye to Christiana. Grief doesn’t go away; it just becomes part of you,” Tereasa and Doug Shepherd said in the statement issued a few days prior.

Twenty years ago, US Airways Express/Air Midwest Flight 5481 stalled at 1,100 feet, then plunged downward, crashing into a maintenance hangar at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

Two crew members and 19 passengers were killed, and one person on the ground was injured. The plane was destroyed by the impact and a fire following the crash.

In the aftermath and faced with legal action, the airline made a rare public apology.

In the law firm’s statement last week, attorney Ronald Goldman said: “Defendants in legal cases of this magnitude are, to say the least, not interested in a public mea culpa. To the contrary, they almost always insist on a clause in the settlement documents expressly denying fault.”

Flight 5481 crash in Charlotte

The National Transportation Safety Board found deficiencies in the airline’s maintenance practices. Investigators determined that an improperly rigged elevator control system, which helps control the plane’s pitch, combined with excessive weight in the back, led to the crash.

Two years later, the airline’s then-president Greg Stephens said Air Midwest, which ceased operations in 2008, and its maintenance provider, Vertex Aerospace, were “truly sorry, and regret and apologize to everyone affected” by the crash.

“This tragedy has caused us to investigate rigorously our policies and guidelines regarding aircraft maintenance, operation and safety in general,” Stephens said. “We have taken substantial measures to prevent similar accidents and incidents in the future, so that your losses will not have been suffered in vain.”

The apology came in response to the demands of Christiana’s parents, Tereasa and Doug Shepherd.

The Shepherds refused to settle a wrongful death claim until the airline issued a public apology and addressed their safety concerns.

“Regrets intensify grief,” the couple said. “Thankfully, we have no regrets about our decision to pursue accountability and change in the airline industry. We know, through various sources, that our case and our story continue to influence air travel safety today.”

Aviation safety improvements

A year after the crash, the victims’ families dedicated a memorial near the airport hangar where the plane went down. The memorial lists the names of those killed in the crash.

“The 20th anniversary of the tragic Air Midwest 5481 crash is an opportunity to reflect on the ongoing fight for aviation safety,” said Goldman, who represented the Shepherd family. “The lives lost, and the loving memories of each precious life, continue to spur our efforts.”

And the airline’s apology has had an impact beyond Air Midwest, Tereasa Shepherd said.

“A friend’s son decided to be an airplane mechanic, went to a mechanic school for a particular airline that I won’t mention, and while he was doing the safety part, this airline brought up our story,” she said during a 2021 podcast. “He said, ‘Wait, I know those people!’ And their point was, every decision you make, every bolt you don’t turn, every job you don’t finish, affects people like this.”

Goldman, who will retire this month, said Air Midwest’s apology is one his most significant achievements during his 60-year career. He said the Shepherds’ determination led to training and staffing improvements in maintenance shops.

“We believe that, out of this disaster, aviation safety has taken a step forward,” Goldman said. “Those improvements are part of the legacy of all those touched by Flight 5481, and I am honored to have played a part in it.”

Flight 5481 victims

Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman law firm provided the following list of victims who were killed Jan. 8, 2003.

Caitlin Albury, 13 – Marsh Harbour, Bahamas

Nicholas Albury, 21 – Marsh Harbour, Bahamas

Robin Albury, 38 – Marsh Harbour, Bahamas

Sreenivasa Badam, 24 – India

Mark Congdon – Baltimore, Maryland

Keith Coyner – Coral Springs, Florida

Forrest Demartino – Dayton, Ohio

Sylvain Dubois – Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Richard E. Fonte, 29 – Jacksonville, North Carolina

Gary Gezzer, 42 – Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Jonathan Gibbs (first officer) – Charlotte, North Carolina

Steven J. Krassas – Richmond, Virginia

Katie Leslie (captain), 25 – Charlotte, North Carolina

Richard Lyons, 56 – Boston, Massachusetts

Ima Pearson – Las Vegas, Nevada

Christiana Shepherd, 18 – Boston, Massachusetts

Joseph M. Spiak, 46 – Boston, Massachusetts

Ganeshram Sreenivasan, 23 – India

Paul Stidham, 46 – Dayton, Maryland

Michael Otto Sullivan – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Ralph Sylvia – Richmond, Virginia