Posted on 11/28/2004 3:23:45 PM PST by mhking
MONTROSE, Colo. - NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol survived a charter plane crash on takeoff Sunday at Montrose Regional Airport, the network said in a statement through its Denver affiliate KUSA-TV.
At least two people — the pilot and the co-pilot — died in the crash, according to the network.
Ebersol and two other people were seriously injured, and rescuers were searching for a person listed on the plane’s manifest whose seat from the plane was missing from the wreckage.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Yes. I haven't heard that one in years. This is sounding to be a terrible situation. When I was in high school, a friend of my brother's and his two brothers and their father went down over Lake Michigan in a small plane, most likely due to icing. I used to golf with the mom years after the horrible crash, and think about her often and just can't believe what strength and faith she must have to have gone on....And they were such great men.
Please add me to your ping list. Thanks.
This is the aspect of the story that I don't understand. I'm not sure where the story was sourced from, but it seems to indicate that one of the brothers was alive in the back row of the plane and the other brother was directing the rescuer to him.
This is a quote from the tow truck driver, Doug Percival. It is hard to follow from the way it's written, but only one son (Charles) is referenced:
"I remember the kid was still yelling. He came and grabbed me from the side and said 'Please, my brother is still in the plane. He was in the fourth row.' When I asked him where he (Charles) was in the plane he said he (Charles) was in the back row. There was him (Charles) and another guy (Dick Ebersol?) in the back row in the(y) very last two seats and they (Charles and Dick) were still alive. Both of them didn't have shoes. I don't know if it knocked them out of their shoes, but neither of them had shoes on."
Oh, my God, how horribly sad. Prayers on the way for the Ebersol family and the flight crew.
Just checked out the Challenger website. The temperature rating is 20 degrees C (centigrade) or 68 degrees F. Colder air is more dense so runway length needed for take-off may be less than that shown.
Flew S/W airlines from Boise to ABQ on Saturday. We spent 10-15 minutes being de-iced before takeoff. This was my first experience with that procedure. The plane had about 1 inch of wet snow on the wings before deicing. No problem with takeoff after that (or else I wouldn't be typing this!).
im getting word it was a CL-600 operated by Air Castle out of Millville NJ. Mechanical? maybe. More then likely exceeded holdover time on deice, what a shame. I had the oportunity to fly Ebersol , Dierdorf and the NBC crew to the Bills vs Steelers AFC 1995. Nice bunch of guys.
Not a whole lot of info coming from the NBAA as of yet.
Yes, I forgot to add my prayers for all concerned.
Thank you.
"Frost on the wings may prevent the aircraft from becoming airborne."
The question I would have for any pilot, is why would you NOT deice in a situation like this?
Thats for sure!
This sounds very similar to the CL604 crash in Birmingham UK.
Very tragic indeed.
"Getthereitis, Gethomeitis, Completetripitis."
Sadly this phenomenon has killed many highly experienced veteran crews operating perfectly good aircraft.
And their trusting passengers.
Sadly this phenomenon has killed many highly experienced veteran crews operating perfectly good aircraft.
That was the cause of the worst air disaster in history, when two 747s collided on takeoff in the Canary Islands back in '75, I believe. One pilot got impatient in a fog delay, and said so over the radio. He went ahead when and where he shouldn't have.
Your interpretation of the account does seem to make more sense. I just assumed from the way it was written that the brother (Charles) was walking around outside the plane when he came upon the truck driver. I was under the impression that when the eyewitnesses arrived on site that both Charles and his father were walking around outside of the wreckage. One of the accounts I read was that by the time rescuers arrived on site, Charles had already pulled his father from the plane.
I read an excerpt from the Denver post that speculates that the other son may have been either pinned beneath the wreckage or underwater. I'm hoping against hope that this is not the case. It would be an even more horrible ending to this story. Prayers for the Ebersol family and the other victims.
It's shocking and makes the situation all the more tragic. Reports indicated that over 3 feet of snow had fallen in the area and that temperatures were below freezing. Considering they were flying in a small plane in less than satisfactory flying conditions, why play with fire?
According to the latest AP story, the co-pilot survived the crash. Initial reports were that he had been killed. He must have been the third victim who was shipped to the burn center. Apparently, the flight attendant was killed.
1) The site does NOT say the takeoff distance is ... 11,094 ... It says the BFL is 11,094
2)This figure is for a fully loaded plane. This plane was lightly loaded.
Let me see if I can interpret this a little better:
"I remember the kid was still yelling. He came and grabbed me from the side and said 'Please, my brother is still in the plane. He was in the fourth row.' When I asked him where he (Charles) was in the plane he said he (Charles) was in the back row. There was him (Charles) and another guy (Dick Ebersol?) in the back row in the(y) very last two seats and they (Charles and Dick) were still alive. Both of them didn't have shoes. I don't know if it knocked them out of their shoes, but neither of them had shoes on."
When the tow truck driver arrived on the scene, Charles and Dick were already out of the plane. Charles asked the truck driver to help him find his brother, who had been in the fourth row.
"I remember the kid was still yelling. He came and grabbed me from the side and said 'Please, my brother is still in the plane. He was in the fourth row.'
The truck driver asks Charles where he had been sitting. Charles states that he and another guy (I'm speculating it was Dick Ebersol) had been seated in the back row. The tow truck driver notes both were still alive.
When I asked him where he (Charles) was in the plane he said he (Charles) was in the back row. There was him (Charles) and another guy (Dick Ebersol?) in the back row in the(
y) very last two seats and they (Charles and Dick) were still alive.
The tow truck driver observes that neither of them have shoes on and speculates that the crash may have knocked them out of their shoes.
Both of them didn't have shoes. I don't know if it knocked them out of their shoes, but neither of them had shoes on."
Someone on the thread has already mentioned that they (the poster) slip off their shoes for comfort after getting situated on the plane. This probably explains the lack of shoes better than the tow truck driver's speculation that they were knocked out of their shoes.
The guy they interviewed knew absolutely nothing. Didn't know if they de-iced, didn't know about the missing kid. Didn't seem to know his own name...
Sheesh.
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