It’s a rainy Saturday night in 1970. You’re standing on a wet tarmac in West Virginia, squinting through the mist, waiting for the lights of a DC-9 to break through the clouds. That plane is carrying the heartbeat of Huntington—the Marshall University football team. But the lights never show up. Instead, there’s just a dull thud and a red glow on a hillside only a mile from the runway.
Honestly, when people search for a marshall plane crash video, they’re usually looking for one of two things. They either want the grainy, heartbreaking news footage from the actual night of November 14, 1970, or they’re looking for the dramatic recreation from the Matthew McConaughey movie We Are Marshall. There is a big difference between Hollywood and the cold, hard reality of what happened on that hill.
Let's be clear: there is no "dashcam" or "iPhone footage" of the impact. It was 1970. What does exist are haunting reels of the final game in North Carolina and the charred remains of the Southern Airways Flight 932.
The Real Story Behind the Marshall Plane Crash Video
The team had just finished a tough game against East Carolina University. They lost 17-14. It was a frustrating afternoon, but the mood on the plane was likely a mix of exhaustion and the quiet comfort of heading home. There were 75 people on board. That included 37 players, the coaching staff, the athletic director, and 25 boosters who were the local pillars of the Huntington community.
They never made it.
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If you watch the archival marshall plane crash video clips often shared during anniversaries, you’ll see the "last drive" of that game. You see Joe Hood making a catch. You see the players in their green and white jerseys, completely unaware that these are the last minutes of their lives. It’s heavy stuff. It's not just "content"—it’s a record of a community’s soul being ripped out.
Why did Flight 932 go down?
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) spent a long time digging through the mud. They found that the plane clipped trees on a ridge about a mile from the airport. Why? Basically, it was flying too low.
The pilots were experienced. They weren't drunk or reckless. But the weather was garbage—mist, light rain, and low clouds. The NTSB report suggests the pilots might have misread their altimeters. Or, even more frustratingly, the instruments might have been off by about 300 feet. When you’re landing a jet in a valley surrounded by hills, 300 feet is the difference between a safe landing and total catastrophe.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Footage
You've probably seen the "crash scene" on YouTube or social media. Most of the high-definition, cinematic footage you see is actually from the 2006 film. The real marshall plane crash video from 1970 is mostly black-and-white news segments. It shows the local fire crews struggling up a steep, muddy embankment. It shows the smoke rising from a hillside that used to be covered in trees.
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It’s incredibly grim.
One of the most moving pieces of real footage isn't of the crash itself, but of the 1971 season. It shows "The Young Thundering Herd"—a team made up almost entirely of freshmen and walk-ons because the NCAA gave Marshall a special waiver. Seeing those kids run onto the field in the wake of such a disaster tells you everything you need to know about West Virginia grit.
The Science of the Descent
According to the FDR (Flight Data Recorder), the plane overshot its descent rate twice. The pilot tried to correct it. It’s like he knew something wasn't quite right but couldn't see the ground through the "solid overcast" at 1,000 feet.
The airport didn't have a "glide slope" back then. A glide slope is a radio signal that tells a pilot exactly how steep their descent should be. Without it, they were flying a "non-precision approach." They were basically eyeballing the altitude based on their dials while flying into a dark, rainy bowl.
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- 75 lives lost: 37 players, 8 coaches, 25 boosters, 5 crew.
- The location: A hill near Ceredo, WV, just short of Tri-State Airport.
- The legacy: The Memorial Fountain on campus, which is turned off every November 14th.
Actionable Insights and How to Honor the Memory
If you're looking into this history, don't just stop at a video of the wreckage. The real value is in understanding how a program and a town refused to die.
- Watch "Ashes to Glory": If you want the best factual record, find this 2000 documentary. It’s much more accurate than the Hollywood movie and features interviews with the people who lived through it.
- Visit the Spring Hill Cemetery: If you’re ever in Huntington, go to the memorial. Six players who couldn't be identified are buried there together under a single monument. It’s a sobering place that puts the "video" into perspective.
- Check the NTSB Archive: For the tech nerds, the actual accident report is public record. It details the altimeter lag and the "missed approach" attempt that happened just seconds too late.
The marshall plane crash video isn't just a piece of "disaster porn" for the internet. It's a reminder of why safety codes in aviation are "written in blood." Every time you fly today and land safely in bad weather, you’re benefiting from the lessons learned on that hill in 1970.
To truly understand the impact, look for the footage of the 1971 win against Xavier. It was a 15-13 victory, won on a last-second play. That's the video that matters. It shows that while the plane went down, the spirit of the Thundering Herd didn't stay there. It got back up. It kept playing.
For those researching for educational or historical purposes, focus on the primary sources like the Marshall University Library Virtual Museum. They have digitized many of the original documents and photos that provide a much clearer picture than any edited social media clip ever could. Always verify "scary" or "shocking" thumbnails against these established records to avoid the misinformation that often swirls around historical tragedies.
Practical Next Steps:
Research the "Southern Airways Flight 932 NTSB Final Report" for a deep dive into the technical flight data. If you are a student of sports history, look into the "NCAA Freshmen Eligibility Rule of 1972," which was heavily influenced by Marshall's need to field a team after the crash. This legal change reshaped college sports forever.