Place an Ad Calendars Classified Forums Sports Weather

sptimes.com Text-only News sections Arts & Entertainment AP The Wire Business Citrus County Columnists Floridian Hernando County Hillsborough Letters Movies Neighborhood Times News Update North Pinellas North of Tampa Obituaries Opinion Pasco County South Pinellas Sports State Tampa Bay TV Times World & Nation  Find your local news section Weekly sections Brandon Times City Times Homes Outdoors Perspective Personal Tech Taste Travel Weekend Xpress Special Sections Arena football Buccaneers College football Devil Rays Lightning Police reports Schools Seniority Subscriber Services Subscribe Renew Help Advertise Place an ad In print Online Market Info Join Us Internships Scholarships Times Jobs Contact us

Crash tape still leaves a mystery

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 28, 2001

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The final conversations between air traffic controllers and the crew of a plane carrying members of the Oklahoma State basketball team provides no explanation for why the plane crashed, killing all 10 on board.

The Beechcraft Super King Air 200 took off from Jefferson County Airport in Colorado during a storm Jan. 27. The plane crashed about 15 minutes later 40 miles east of Denver.

Coroner Rick Amend listed ground impact as the official cause of death for the 10 men. The team had played Colorado that day.

The plane climbed to 23,000 feet and cruised for three minutes before air traffic controllers lost contact. No distress call was made. Investigators have ruled out engine failure as a cause.

Before takeoff, pilot Denver Mills told controllers he planned to fly to Stillwater, Okla., then to Oklahoma City, the tape shows.

"I'd like to check the weather and give you a couple of flight plans," Mills says.

Later, an air traffic controller in Denver radioed that he could not reach the plane. The tapes do not give any indications of problems.

The National Transportation Safety Board will not complete its preliminary report on the crash for another few months, spokesman Paul Schlamm said.

WYCKOFF HONORED: Florida State women's senior Brooke Wyckoff was named first-team All-ACC, joining Tia Paschal in 1993 as the lone Seminoles to be so honored. Wyckoff leads the team in scoring (15.3 points) and is second in rebounding (6.7). She's among the ACC top 10 in field-goal percentage (46.7), free-throw percentage (80.4) and blocks (1.0) and was named to the league's all-defensive team. Wyckoff also received a $5,000 post-graduate scholarship and has a 3.84 GPA in social science education.

- Staff writer Brian Landman contributed to this report.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright