Accident | |
---|---|
Date | October 2, 1970 |
Summary | Controlled flight into terrain due to pilot error |
Site | Clear 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 |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Martin 4-0-4 |
Operator | Golden Eagle Aviation Inc |
Registration | N464M |
Flight origin | Wichita Mid-Continent Airport |
Stopover | Stapleton International Airport |
Destination | Logan-Cache Airport |
Occupants | 40 |
Passengers | 37 |
Crew | 3 |
Fatalities | 31 |
Injuries | 9 |
Survivors | 9 |
In clear and calm weather in Colorado at 1:14 p.m. MDT on Friday, October 2, 1970, a chartered Martin 4-0-4 airliner crashed into a mountain eight miles (13 km) west of Silver Plume.[1][2][3][4] Operated by Golden Eagle Aviation Inc, 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 one of two aircraft carrying the 1970 Wichita State Shockers football team to Logan, Utah, for a game against Utah State;[6] the second aircraft flew a conventional route and arrived safely in Utah. Pilot errors, including poor in-flight decisions and inadequate pre-flight planning, were officially reported as leading to the crash.[7][page needed]
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