Wichita State University football team plane crash

Coordinates: 39°41′36″N 105°52′57″W / 39.69333°N 105.88250°W / 39.69333; -105.88250
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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

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[change | change source]

  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

Other websites[change | change source]