Pilot critically hurt as stairs twist

Monday, November 22nd 1999, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Grapevine, Texas-AP) -- An American Airlines pilot is in critical condition with head injuries after a stairway accident today at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. American spokesman John says 41-year-oldCaptain Jay Straub fell on his face. Twenty-nine-year-old flight attendant Ricky Phillips fell on his back.

Phillips suffered a bump on the head and a sprained ankle. The two were on some stairs that aren't accessible to the public when the accident happened. They had just arrived aboard Flight 535 from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hotard says the two were leaving to catch another flight. They were atop some stairs just outside the jetway -- when the stairs twisted. Both men were thrown to the ground. The cause of the accident is under investigation.