October 2, 1970, started out like any other away-game Friday for a college football program. The Wichita State Shockers were heading to Logan, Utah, to take on Utah State. They had two planes. One was the "Gold" plane, carrying the starters, the head coach, and several boosters. The other was the "Black" plane, carrying the reserves and support staff.
Only one of those planes made it.
The Wichita State University football plane crash remains one of the most harrowing stories in the history of American collegiate athletics. It’s often overshadowed by the Marshall University tragedy that happened just weeks later, but the details of the Wichita State crash are uniquely haunting. Honestly, when you look at the flight path and the decisions made in the cockpit that afternoon, it’s hard not to feel a pit in your stomach. It wasn't just a mechanical failure; it was a series of human choices that led 40 people into a mountain trap they couldn't escape.
A Scenic Route Turned Deadly
The "Gold" plane was a Martin 4-0-4, a twin-engine prop plane that was already a bit of a relic by 1970 standards. The pilots, Danny Crocker and Ronald Skipper, decided to give the players a "scenic" view of the Rocky Mountains. Instead of sticking to the original flight plan that would have kept them at a safe, high altitude over the standard air routes, they filed a visual flight rules (VFR) plan. This basically meant they were flying by sight, staying low to look at the Continental Divide.
It was a beautiful day. The sun was out. The mountains looked incredible.
But here’s the thing: the Martin 4-0-4 isn't a fighter jet. It’s a heavy, sluggish passenger plane. As they entered the Clear Creek Valley near Silver Plume, Colorado, the terrain started rising faster than the plane could climb. The pilots had flown into a "box canyon."
Imagine driving a bus into a narrow alleyway only to realize there’s a wall at the end, and you don't have a reverse gear. That’s essentially what happened. The pilots tried to bank the plane sharply to the right to pull out of the valley, but the aircraft stalled. It clipped the trees on the slope of Mount Trelease and slammed into the mountainside at about 10,800 feet.
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The Horror on the Ground and the Survivors
The impact was devastating. The plane didn't just crash; it disintegrated and burst into flames. Out of the 40 people on board, 29 died at the scene. Two more would later die from their injuries in the hospital.
Rick Stephens, a junior offensive tackle, was one of the survivors. He’s spoken over the years about the sheer chaos—the smell of aviation fuel, the screams, and the realization that their head coach, Ben Wilson, and his wife, Helen, were gone. The survivors were stuck on a steep, rocky slope, many of them badly burned, watching their teammates perish in the wreckage.
Local construction workers on the nearby Eisenhower Tunnel project saw the smoke and were among the first to scramble up the mountain. It wasn't an easy rescue. The terrain was brutal.
One of the most tragic aspects of the Wichita State University football plane crash is the "what if" factor regarding the weight of the plane. Later investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that the plane was significantly overloaded. When you combine an overweight aircraft with high-altitude "thin" air and a narrow canyon, you’re looking at a recipe for a total catastrophe. The plane simply didn’t have the lift required to clear the ridges.
Why We Don't Talk About It Enough
It’s kind of strange, right? You probably know the movie We Are Marshall. That crash happened on November 14, 1970—barely six weeks after the Wichita State tragedy. Because Marshall lost almost its entire team and coaching staff, it became the defining tragedy of that era.
Wichita State’s "Black" plane had arrived safely in Logan, meaning half the team was still alive. They were left with a choice: do we keep playing?
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The "Nightmare 70" season continued after a short hiatus. They played with a team of freshmen and survivors, known as the "Second Season." They lost every single game they played for the rest of the year. It was a miserable, grieving stretch of football that most people can't even fathom today.
Eventually, Wichita State dropped its football program entirely in 1986. While financial reasons were the primary driver, the shadow of 1970 always loomed large. The program never truly recovered its soul after that mountain in Colorado took so much of it.
The NTSB Findings and the Harsh Reality
The NTSB report didn't mince words. It cited "the pilot's intentional operation of the aircraft into a mountain valley from which it could not exit." Basically, it was pilot error driven by a desire to show the kids a nice view.
- Overweight: The plane was about 5,000 pounds over its maximum takeoff weight.
- Altitude: The "density altitude" in the Rockies makes engines perform poorly; the pilots didn't account for how sluggish the plane would be.
- Navigation: They were in a valley they weren't supposed to be in.
There was also a lot of legal drama afterward regarding the charter company, Jack Richards Aircraft Company. It turned out the insurance and certification situation was a mess. It was a Wild West era of plane charters that would never be allowed today.
Memorials and Keeping the Memory Alive
If you ever find yourself in Wichita, you’ll see "Memorial '70" on the campus. It’s a beautiful, somber spot. Every year on October 2nd at 9:00 a.m., people gather there. They place a wreath. They remember the names like Gene Robinson, John Taylor, and Mal Kimmel.
There is also a memorial at the crash site in Colorado. It’s a tough hike. It’s not a tourist trail. But people still make the trek to leave jerseys, pennies, and flowers on the jagged rocks of Mt. Trelease.
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Honestly, the Wichita State University football plane crash serves as a grim reminder of how fragile everything is. One minute you're a 20-year-old kid joking with your friends about a game in Utah, and the next, you're fighting for your life on a snowy Colorado ridge.
Actionable Insights for History and Aviation Buffs
If you want to truly understand the impact of this event or honor the history, here are a few things you can actually do:
Read the NTSB Report
Don't just take a blogger's word for it. The official NTSB report (AAR-71-04) is public record. It provides a chilling, technical look at the final minutes of the flight. Reading the cockpit transcript fragments is a heavy experience, but it provides the most accurate picture of the mechanics of the failure.
Visit the Campus Memorial
If you are in Kansas, go to the WSU campus. The memorial is located near 17th and Hillside. It’s one thing to read about it; it’s another to stand in front of the names of the players, coaches, and fans who never came home.
Support the Memorial Scholarship
Wichita State has a Memorial '70 Scholarship fund. It was set up to turn a tragedy into something that helps future students. Contributing or even just sharing the link during the anniversary in October helps keep the legacy of those players alive in a way that actually matters for the future.
Study the Marshall Comparison
To get a full picture of how the NCAA changed its rules regarding freshmen eligibility and safety protocols, compare the Wichita State recovery to the Marshall recovery. Wichita State's "Second Season" is a case study in the psychological toll of playing through trauma, which eventually led to better mental health support in modern athletics.
The tragedy wasn't just about a plane falling out of the sky. It was about a community that had to figure out how to keep breathing when the air felt too thin. Even though the football program is gone, the "Shockers" name still carries the weight of those who stayed on that mountain.
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