The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy. Gary, 16, and … Wichita State plane crash survivor takes on a mission of remembrance The first time Rick Stephens descended Mount Trelease, near Silver Plume, Colorado, he faded in and out of consciousness. Fifty years ago Friday. WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - This weekend marks 50 years since the plane crash involving members of the Wichita State football team were killed. Box 4: FF 19: Crash Notes - Schaible. The stories of the people affected by the crash and its aftermath serve as a tribute to all – teammates, friends and family. Mary Owen places a yellow rose in a vase in memory of Wichita State plane crash victom Thomas Owen during a ceremony to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the crash in Colorado that killed 31. The Martin 404 plane was enroute to Logan, Utah for a game with Utah State University. He expects the echoes from Saturday's airplane crash near Byers to dog many at Oklahoma State as well. Raymond and Yvonne King left behind seven children, ranging in ages from 18 to 4. — It's been 50 years since a plane crashed near Loveland Pass claiming 31 lives of the 40 Wichita State University (WSU) football team players, … (AP Photo/David Zalubowski), 2 backcountry skiers found dead in avalanche near Silverton, Blake Street Tavern closing Jan. 1, owner says he hopes it's temporary, Less wind tonight, Winter begins Monday with sunshine and 50s, CU football earns Alamo Bowl berth, will face Texas, NHL, players finalize agreement for 56-game season in 2021, The Denver Gazette’s forecast for Dec. 21, report of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), NTSB: Pilot's actions likely caused Dale Jr. plane crash. On 2 October 1970, a twin-engine plane carrying Wichita State University football players, staff and supporters crashed near Loveland Pass enroute to a game in Utah. Around 1 p.m., the chartered twin-engined propliner transporting the Wichita State University football team from Wichita, Kansas, crashed at the base of … Family and friends remember the 31 people with the Wichita State football team who died 50 years ago in a plane crash in Colorado's Rocky Mountains. On Nov. 28, 1970, Levitt Arena hosted “A Night of Stars” benefit for the victims of the Wichita State and Marshall University plane crashes. Wichita State crash still echoes. It is a stone marker with the names of the eight people who survived the crash. Fourteen of the victims were starters on the WSU football … Every year on Oct. 2, Wichita State University remembers the victims of the 1970 plane crash in Colorado, a tragedy that took the lives of 31 people on the trip to a football game in Utah the next day. The names of the 31 victims were read during a ceremony at Cessna Stadium, and a new addition was unveiled to the Memorial 70 sculpture on the WSU campus. Th… Eight players and the co-pilot survived the crash of the Martin 404 on a Friday afternoon on Mount Trelease near Silver Plume, Colorado. ABC televised the event with Monty Hall as host. WSU observed a remembrance at Cessna Stadium on Friday. By Monte Whaley Denver Post Staff Writer Jan. 29, 2001 - Mike Bruce is still haunted by things he saw on the side of a mountain in Silver Plume more than 30 years ago. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. Ben and Helen Wilson, WSU head coach and his wife. A wreath is placed at Wichita State's Memorial '70 at 9 a.m. each Oct. 2. “I look up there and think of them.” SILVER PLUME, Colo. (UPI) -- A chartered airplane carrying the Wichita State University football team crashed and burned Friday near timberline … Members of the Wichita State community gathered at Football Memorial ’70 to memorialize the plane crash that took the lives of more than 30 members of the university. A Wichita State t-shirt, placed as a memorial, lies among the remaining wreckage of a plane crash site near Silver Plume, Colorado on August … Nine others survived. The NTSB is investigating what led up to the crash. 2 killed in plane crash near Telluride ID'd as newlyweds from Florida Crews used a helicopter to recover the victims' bodies Monday. On Friday, October 2, 1970, a pair of Martin 404 twin-engine aircraft took off from Wichita, Kansas, carrying the Wichita State University (WSU) football team, coaches, and VIP supporters. Wichita State University held a memorial service at Cessna Stadium on Friday honoring both the victims and survivors of a plane crash 50 years ago. Mal Kimmel, a 21-year-old lineman, was one of 31 people who died in the plane crash. Photo by Travis Heying, Wichita Eagle. Teammates, family members and friends visit the crash site of an airplane carrying members of the 1970 Wichita State University Shockers football team near Loveland Pass Monday, July 27, 2020, west of Silver Plume, Colo. Wreckage from the plane, which was one of two being used to take the Shockers to play a football game against Utah State University in Logan, Utah, is still scattered on the mountain top nearly 50 years after the crash close to the Eisenhower Tunnel. HESSTON—Gary King played the role of a victim for a while after the Wichita State University plane crash that claimed his parents on Oct. 2, 1970. A rescue worker probes though the wreckage of a plane crash in Silver Plume, Colo. on Oct. 2, 1970. Both airplanes refueled at Denver’s Stapleton Airport. > Photos from WSU of many hikers that have trekked to the Memorial '70 crash site, high atop a Colorado mountain. By Associated Press , Wire Service Content Dec. 14, … Every year on Oct. 2, Wichita State University remembers the victims of the 1970 plane crash in Colorado, a tragedy that took the lives of 31 people on the trip to a football game in Utah the next day. One of the planes proceeded to Utah via southern Wyoming, avoiding Colorado’s high mountain wall. John Duren, 19, Oklahoma City, Okla., Sophomore TE, Randy Kiesau, 20, Clinton, Okla., Junior CB, Mal Kimmel, 21, St. Genevieve, Mo., Senior C, Carl Krueger, 19, Chicago, Ill., Sophomore DE, Tom Owen, 20, Temple Terrace, Fla., Junior RB, Gene Robinson, 21, Dayton, Ohio, Junior TE, Tom Shedden, 20, Oklahoma City, Okla., Junior OT, Richard Stines, 19, Kansas City, Kan., Sophomore G, Jack Vetter, 21, McPherson, Kan., Senior DT, Bert Katzenmeyer, 52, Elwood City, Penn., Athletic Director, Ray Coleman, 45, Wichita, Kan., Shocker Club Chairman, Wichita State Crash Survivor Relives Details, Crash site an important memorial for 'Gold Plane' family, Triumph and tragedy: Scotties grad Barkell starred at Wichita State, recalls plane crash, Forgotten tragedy: Survivors' quest to keep memories of 1970 Wichita State crash from fading, Daughter of WSU plane crash victim never knew her 'Da-da', 1990: Those left behind mourned and built new lives, Three generations later, the secrets of Wichita State's devastating plane crash are still unfolding, Wichita State plane crash killing 31 in 1970 revisited Saturday, ‘You’ve got to go on’: Children of Wichita State crash victims share a 50-year bond, Wichita State marks anniversary of 1970 football team plane crash - Wichita Eagle, Overshadowed: The Wichita State Football Crash, Black & Gold: Remembering the WSU Plane Crash, Surviving Oct. 2nd: Remembering the Fallen with Rick Stephens, 'Gold Plane' & Silver Plume: the Wichita State Plane Crash Revisited, A Look at the WSU Plane Crash's Aftermath, Crash Site an Important Memorial for 'Gold Plane' Family, Former Utah State player still feels linked to Shockers, Shocker Summer: 1970 healing process began on a Saturday night in Little Rock, Shockers forever: Area graduates were part of Wichita State program when plane crash killed 31 in 1970, Greg Hansen: Remembering the Wichita State plane crash, 50 years later, The Valley of No Return: The Story of the Wichita State University Football Team Plane Crash, Wichita State University Football Team Airplane Crash Collection. RELATED: NTSB: Pilot's actions likely caused Dale Jr. plane crash, RELATED: DIA launches app for safer COVID-19 travel. The names of the 31 people who died in the 1970 Wichita State football plane crash are on a memorial on the western edge of the WSU campus, near Hillside Street. Of the 40 on board, 31 died either in the crash or as a result of injuries sustained in it. Wichita State University built a memorial for those who died from the crash called Memorial '70. The possible cause of the crash, according to the 1970 report of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), is that the pilot made improper decisions in-flight or during planning: "The intentional operation of the aircraft over a mountain valley route at an altitude from which the aircraft could neither climb over the obstructing terrain ahead, nor execute a successful course reversal," NTSB said. It's been 40 years since the gold plane crashed into the Colorado Rockies. View their obituary at Legacy.com They were bound for Logan, Utah, to play the Utah State University Aggies the following day. The brief ceremony honors WSU football players, administrators and supporters who died in a plane crash October 2, 1970. President John Bardo recognized the members of the accident. Randy Phillips joined the Wichita State University football team in 1971, a year after the plane crash that killed 14 players and 17 other people. Newspaper clippings, including The Sunflower, Wichita State News, and Midway, regarding the plane crash, the memorial, and follow-up stories on the victim’s families. Friday, the … LOVELAND, Colo. — It's been 50 years since a plane crashed near Loveland Pass claiming 31 lives of the 40 Wichita State University (WSU) football team players, boosters, coaches, administrators, trainers and crew members on board. Carl Fahrbach, Wichita State’s first dean of admissions, was one of 31 players, coaches, university officials and boosters killed in the 1970 crash in the Colorado mountains. With the 50th anniversary of the Oct. 2 tragedy just days away, the WSU alumni who created the Football ’70 Memorial Scholarship are encouraging donations to make it more impactful for today’s students. Every year on October 2 at 9 a.m., a wreath is placed at this memorial. “I owed it to them, to those who didn’t make it, to do the best I can and be the best I can.”. “Even though those affected by the tragedy are scattered, we are one — at … Over the years, hikers have left behind mementos and other paraphernalia at site of the Wichita State University 1970 plane crash. The little-known memorial stands as a tribute to the 31 people who lost their lives when a plane carrying the Wichita State football team crashed while traveling to a game at Utah State … As it turned out, the Oct. 2, 1970 plane crash killed 31 people – 14 players, 14 staff, administrators and boosters, the pilot and two flight attendants. WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – On October 2nd, 1970, a plane carrying nearly half of Wichita State’s football team, including coach Ben Wilson and administrators crashed en … Wichita Plane Crash Victims passed away. The crash claimed the lives of 31 members of the Wichita State … The obituary was featured in Legacy on October 30, 2014. © Wichita State University 2020. Over the years survivors and loved ones of the deceased have taken the steep climb to the 11,000 feet to the crash site on the south side of Mount Trelease to remember those lost on Oct. 2, 1970. “I took the attitude that maybe I was given a second chance that day,” said Mike Bruce, an offensive tackle who was one of only nine survivors of the crash in an article from Associated Press. According to WSU, one alumnus and survivor of the plane crash, Rick Stephens, has gone up to the site a few times, leading a bike ride fundraiser from Wichita State to Castle Rock to commemorate those lost in the plane crash. A newspaper clipping following the tragic plane crash in October, 1970 just east of the Eisenhower Tunnel shows a Wichita State football helmet amid the wreckage. A Florida man has been identified as the victim in a fatal airplane crash in northeast Alabama. “I honor their memory every day,” Lewis said. A list of the 31 people killed in the Wichita State football plane crash on Oct. 2, 1970. We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here. In one of the worst tragedies of college sports history, the WSU "Gold" plane, a Martin 404 carrying 36 passengers and a crew of four, crashed at approximately 3 p.m. on a mountain near Silver Plume, Colorado while en route to Logan, Utah for a game with Utah State University. Wichita Eagle and Beacon - Crash 1970. All Rights Reserved. There were two planes on there way to Utah State for a game, according to WSU — the "Gold" plane and the "Black" plane. 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