Wife's final kiss for pilot whose plane was flown into Pentagon

THE WIFE of the pilot whose plane was crashed into the Pentagon by hijackers finally had the chance to say goodbye to him today.

Sheri Burlingame, the wife of American Airlines pilot Charles Burlingame, kissed her hand before touching the coffin at his funeral with full military honours at Arlington National Cemetery.

Mr Burlingame trained at the US Naval Academy and a US Navy guard of honour carried his coffin.

The funeral follows an extended argument over whether he should be given his own grave in Washington's military cemetery because he died younger than 60, the eligibility age for reservists.

His wife had been due to go with him on the fatal 11 September flight to Los Angeles for an Anaheim Angels baseball game to celebrate his 52nd birthday the following day. When he learned that he could not buy good seats for the game he told Mrs Burlingame not to join him.

Hijackers Khalid al-Midhar, Majed Moqed, Hani Hanjour, Nawaq Alhamzi and his brother Salem are thought to have attacked stewardesses with knives to draw Mr Burlingame and first officer David Charlebois out of the cockpit.

Then they are believed to have rushed in and seized the controls.

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