Wichita State University football team plane crash

On Friday, October 2, 1970 at 1:14 p.m. MDT in Colorado a chartered Martin 4-0-4 airliner crashed into a mountain eight miles (13 km) west of Silver Plume.^[1][2][3][4] It happened in clear weather. 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 operated by Golden Eagle Aviation.

Wichita State University Crash

A Martin 4-0-4, circa 1981, in Florida Airlines livery.
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
Aircraft type	Martin 4-0-4
Operator	Golden Eagle Aviation
Registration	N464M, ex-N460A
Flight origin	Wichita Mid-Continent Airport
Stopover	Stapleton International Airport
Destination	Logan-Cache Airport
Passengers	37
Crew	3
Fatalities	31
Survivors	9

Loveland Pass

Location in the western United States

It was one of two aircraft carrying the Wichita State University football team to Logan, Utah. They were going to Utah for a game against Utah State University.^[6] The other plane flew a normal route and arrived safely in Utah. Pilot errors, including bad in-flight choices and bad pre-flight planning, were officially reported as what caused the crash.^[7]