Wichita State University football team plane crash

Wichita State University Crash
A Martin 4-0-4, circa 1981,
in Florida Airlines livery.
Accident
DateOctober 2, 1970
SummaryControlled flight into terrain due to pilot error
SiteClear Creek County, Colorado
8 miles (13 km) west
of Silver Plume, near the
Loveland Ski Area
39°41′36″N 105°52′57″W / 39.69333°N 105.88250°W / 39.69333; -105.88250
Aircraft typeMartin 4-0-4
OperatorGolden Eagle Aviation
RegistrationN464M, ex-N460A
Flight originWichita Mid-Continent Airport
StopoverStapleton International Airport
DestinationLogan-Cache Airport
Passengers37
Crew3
Fatalities31
Survivors9
Loveland Pass is located in USA West
Loveland Pass
Loveland Pass
class=notpageimage|
Location in the western United States

On Friday, October 2, 1970 at 1:14 p.m. MDT in Colorado a chartered Martin 4-0-4 airliner crashed into a mountain eight miles (13 km) west of Silver Plume.[1][2][3][4] It happened in clear weather. The twin-engined propliner carried 37 passengers and a crew of three; 29 were killed at the scene and two later died of their injuries while under medical care.[5] It was operated by Golden Eagle Aviation.

It was one of two aircraft carrying the Wichita State University football team to Logan, Utah. They were going to Utah for a game against Utah State University.[6] The other plane flew a normal route and arrived safely in Utah. Pilot errors, including bad in-flight choices and bad pre-flight planning, were officially reported as what caused the crash.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "13 gridders die in air crash". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. October 3, 1970. p. 1.
  2. ↑ "29 killed in Colorado air tragedy". The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon. UPI. October 3, 1970. p. 1.
  3. ↑ "Air tragedy in the Rockies". Rocky Mountain News. October 3, 1970. p. 1. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
  4. ↑ Sanchez, Robert (October 2010). "The Crash". 5280 Magazine. Archived from the original on December 25, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Memorial '70 at Wichita State". Archived from the original on 2015-01-29. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  6. ↑ Mondout, Patrick (2005), Air Crash In Rockies Kills Wichita State Football Players, Super70s.com, Retrieved 2009-09-10
  7. ↑ NTSB Aircraft Accident Report, SA-421, File No. 3-1127 Archived October 9, 2013, at the Wayback Machine

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