Ten Worst Sports Celebrity & Personality Airplane Crashes

The 1970 Marshall University Thundering Herd football team (Marshall University)

It’s a morbid, frightening subject to be sure, but airplane disasters have taken the lives of a number of celebrities through the years. Here are ten famous air crashes that rocked the world of sports. The list is in no particular order, as no premium can be placed on the value of a human life.

Marshall University Football Team, November 14, 1970 – We Are Marshall

Chartered Southern Airways Flight 932 crashed into a hillside near Huntington, West Virginia, at 7:35 PM (ET) on November 14, 1970, killing all 75 people on board. Among the dead were 37 players from the Thundering Herd football team, eight members of the coaching staff, 25 fans, four flight crew and one charter company employee. Bad weather and improper use of cockpit instrumentation data was blamed for the crash, with the plane bursting into flames on impact and coming to a halt 4,219 feet short of the runway at Huntington-Tri-State/Melton Airport. The team was returning home aboard the DC-9-31 following a 17-14 loss to the East Carolina Pirates. The 2006 film, We Are Marshall, starring Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox, dramatized the tragic event and its aftermath.

Wichita State University Football Team, October 2, 1970 – Saga of The Black and Gold

One of two Martin 404s carrying the Wichita State University football team crashed into Mt. Trelease near Silver Plume, Colorado, on October 2, 1970, eventually taking the lives of 31 of the 40 people on board. Pilot error was ruled as the cause of the crash, with the so-called doomed “Gold” plane ferrying the starting players, coaches and boosters to a football game against Utah State in Logan. Pilot error was blamed for the crash, which claimed 14 of the team’s players whose ages ranged from 19 to 21. One of the survivors was 21-year-old Randy Jackson, who went on play three seasons in the National Football League.

Rocky Marciano, August 31, 1969 – The Rock’s Final Flight

Undefeated heavyweight boxer Rocky Marciano (1923-1969), along with pilot Glenn Belz (37) and fellow passenger Frankie Farrell (23), lost their lives on August 31, 1969, when their single engine Cessna 172H struck an oak tree two miles short of the runway at a private airfield near Newton, Iowa. Bad weather, night conditions and pilot inexperience were blamed for the crash, which had killed all three passengers on impact. It was the eve of Marciano’s 46th birthday, with the retired fighter, whose professional career record was an unblemished 49-0, headed to a speaking engagement in Des Moinies following a dinner at the Chicago home of STP CEO Andy Granatelli. A surprise birthday celebration for Marciano was planned pending his arrival at his Fort Lauderdale home.

Rocky Marciano (1923-1969)

California Poly San Luis Obispo Football Team, October 29, 1960 – Tragedy in Toledo

A chartered Arctic Pacific Curtiss C-46F propliner carrying the California Polytechnic University football team crashed on takeoff from Toledo (Ohio) Express Airport on October 29, 1960, killing 22 of the 48 people on board. Among the dead were 16 football players, the club’s student manager and one Cal Poly sports booster. Deteriorating weather conditions, overloading and pilot error were cited as the probable causes of the crash. It was noted that the pilot of the C-46 was flying on a revoked license, pending an appeal.

Knute Rockne, March 31, 1931 – The Fighting Irish Mourn

Legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne (1888-1931), along with all seven other passengers and crew, died on TWA Flight 599 when their Fokker F-10A Trimotor crashed shortly after takeoff near Bazaar, Kansas, on March 31, 1931. Structural failure was blamed for the crash of the Trimotor, which had been bound from Kansas City to Los Angeles. Rockne was on his way to Hollywood for filming of The Spirit of Notre Dame (1931), starring Lew Ayres and William Bakewell. President Herbert Hoover later called the death of Rockne “a national loss.”

Knute Rockne (1888-1931)

University of Evansville Men’s Basketball Team, December 13, 1977 – The Doomed Purple Aces

A chartered National Jet Service Douglas DC-3 carrying the University of Evansville men’s basketball team crashed shortly after takeoff in Evansville, Indiana, on December 13, 1977, killing all 29 people on board. In their earlier days the team would have taken a bus, but now that the university was competing at the Division I level a chartered jet was booked for the Purple Aces’ away game against Middle Tennessee State. Improperly loaded luggage was blamed for the accident, with the crash site resembling something out of a horror movie as described by Gene Hollencamp, a former Vietnam War medic who was one of the first people on the scene: “As we got closer, my first impression was it looked like there were a lot of tombstones scattered around. Then I realized they were seats with many of the passengers still strapped in them.” After spying the University of Evansville flag, Hollencamp remembered thinking, “Oh, my God, this is the Aces.”

Roberto Clemente, December 31, 1972 – A Ballplayer’s Mission of Mercy

Pittsburgh Pirates baseball star Roberto Clemente (1934-1972), along with the four other people on board, were killed when their DC-7 lost power in engines No. 2 and 3 and crashed shortly after takeoff off the coast of Isla Verde, Puerto Rico, on New Year’s Eve 1972. Poor maintenance, overloading and sub-par flight personnel were blamed for the crash. Clemente was on a mission of mercy to deliver badly needed supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

Roberto Clemente (1934-1972)

United States Figure Skating Team, February 15, 1961 – There Is No Future

All 72 people aboard Sabena Flight 548 were killed when their Boeing 707 crashed near Brussels, Belgium, on February 15, 1961. Among the casualties were all 18 members of the 1961 U.S. Figure Skating Team, along with 16 coaches, officials, judges and family members. The flight had originated in New York and was headed to Prague, the site of the World Figure Skating Championships. Mechanical failure of the 707′s flying controls was blamed for the crash, with the plane going down in flames some four miles short of the Brussels airport. “And now there is no future…./For each, the story was the same/The past that seemed so short was longer than they knew/It was all they would ever have,” read the eulogy in The Burbank (California) Daily Review, February 16, 1961.

The 1961 United States Figure Skating Team

Thurman Munson, August 2, 1979 – Farewell to Number 15

New York Yankee captain and perennial All Star Thurman Munson (1947-1979) was killed at Akron-Canton Regional Airport while practicing takeoffs and landings in a Cessna 501 Citation jet on August 2, 1979. Aboard the aircraft were friend Jerry Anderson and flight instructor Dave Hall, both of whom survived the crash. Pilot error was blamed for the accident, with the 32-year-old Munson trapped inside where it is believed he died of asphyxiation after inhaling the burning fumes of toxic substances. Munson’s #15 Yankees jersey was immediately retired by the team upon hearing of his death.

United States Olympic Boxing Team, March 14, 1980 – End of a Dream

All 87 people aboard Polish Airlines Flight 007 were killed when their Ilyushin-62 crashed near Warsaw, Poland, on March 14, 1980. Among the casualties were 14 fighters and 8 officials from the U.S. Boxing Team and Polish singer Anna Jantar. On a second approach to Warsaw’s Okecie Airport the airliner’s pilots had employed a special procedure in order to compensate for a malfunctioning landing gear. When one of the engines broke apart, the rudder and elevator control lines were severed, causing the pilots to lose control of the plane. The team was to have competed in dual meets in Cracow and Katowice, Poland.

Twelve More Tragic Sports Personality Airplane Crashes

Alianza Lima Soccer Team, near Lima, Peru, aboard a Fokker F-27, December 8, 1987
Chicago Cubs second baseman Ken Hubbs (1941-1964), near Provo, Utah, while piloting a Cessna 172D, February 15, 1964
Green Cross Chilean Soccer Team, Llico, Chile, aboard LAN Flight 310/Douglas DC-3, April 3, 1961
Former Olympic track star and U.S. Marine captain Charlie Paddock (1900-1943), near Sitka, Alaska, aboard a U.S. Navy plane, July 21, 1943
Scottish race car driver Ron Flockhart (1923-1962), near Melbourne, Australia, while piloting a P-51 Mustang, April 12, 1962
Professional golfer Tony Lema (1934-66), near Munster, Indiana, aboard a twin-engine Beechcraft Bonanza, July 24, 1966
CART racing team owner and former Indianapolis 500 driver Tony Lee Bettenhausen (1951-2000), Leesburg, Kentucky, aboard a twin-engine Beech Baron, February 14, 2000
Former National Hockey League player and Los Angeles Kings scout Garnet “Ace” Bailey (1948-2001), New York, New York, aboard hijacked United Airlines Flight 175/Boeing 767 when it slammed into the World Trade Center, September 11, 2001
British race car drivers Richard Lloyd (1945-2008) and David Leslie (1953-2008), London, England, aboard a Cessna 500 Citation I, March 30, 2008
The Zambian National Soccer Team, near Libreville, Gabon, aboard Zambia Air Force de Havilland Buffalo #319, April 27, 1993
Eleven members, coaches and officials of the Manchester United Football Team, Munich, West Germany, aboard British European Airways Flight 609/Airpseed Ambassador A5-57, February 6, 1958
Professional golfer Payne Stewart (1957-1999), Aberdeen, South Dakota, aboard a Gates Learjet 35, October 25, 1999

Payne Stewart (1957-1999)

Question by orangetiger46: i need to know how much to fly a cat from beaumont texas airport to elmira corning regional?
i am asking for the lady who i may be getting him from also how safe is it for them whats required and what to expect any tips or suggestions

Best answer:

Answer by MzFabbulous
I dont know how far it is, but if its pretty far then it will probably be pretty scary for the little cat. But if theres no other option then just call the Airline that youre going to be using and ask how much it is for pet airfare and they will tell you all the details you need to know.

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