Air Indiana Flight 216

Air Indiana Flight 216
	DC-3 similar to accident aircraft
Accident
Date	13 December 1977
Summary	Pilot Error (rudder and right aileron control locks not removed before takeoff)
Site	Evansville Regional Airport, United States
Aircraft type	Douglas DC-3
Operator	Air Indiana
Registration	N51071
Passengers	26
Crew	3
Fatalities	29
Survivors	0

The Air Indiana Flight 216 crash occurred on December 13, 1977, at 19:22 CST, when a Douglas DC-3, registration N51071 carrying the University of Evansville basketball team, crashed on takeoff at the Evansville Regional Airport in Evansville, Indiana. The aircraft lost control and crashed shortly after lift-off.^[1] The plane was on its way to Nashville International Airport, taking the team to play the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders.

The National Transportation Safety Board blamed the crash on the pilot's failure to remove gust locks on the right aileron and the rudder before takeoff, as well as an overloaded baggage compartment. The NTSB report said that the plane might have been able to stay airborne had only one of the problems existed. As it was, the extra baggage shifted the plane's center of gravity to the back end, and the locked rudder and aileron made it impossible to provide the needed lift to overcome the extra weight.

Two weeks after the crash, the only member of the basketball team who was not on the DC-3 was killed after being hit by a drunk driver, leaving all of the members of the 1977 Purple Aces Basketball team dead. A memorial has been constructed at the University of Evansville known as the "Weeping Basketball." On stone slabs are engraved the names of the members killed in both the plane crash as well as the student killed in a car accident. Also engraved is an excerpt from the eulogy delivered by school president William Graves at a memorial service: "Out of the agony of this hour we will rise."

Victims

Seniors: Kevin Kingston, John Ed Washington and Marion Anthony “Tony” Winburn
Juniors: Stephen Miller, Bryan Taylor
Sophomores: Keith Moon
Freshmen: Warren Alston, Ray Comandella, Mike Duff, Kraig Heckendorn, Michael Joyner, Barney Lewis, Greg Smith and Mark Siegel
Student Managers- Jeff Bohnert and Mark Kniese
Coach and Administrators:
- Head Coach - Robert "Bobby" Watson
- UE Athletic Business Manager - Bob Hudson
- UE Comptroller - Charles Shike
- Sports Information Director - Gregory Knipping
- Radio announcer - Marvin "Marv" Bates
Airplane crew:^[2]
- Pilot - Ty Van Pham
- Copilot - Gaston Ruiz
- Flight attendant - Pamela Smith
Others:
- Jim Stewart, owner of the air taxi company that owned the plane, National Jet Services
- William "Bill" Hartford CEO and co-owner of National Jet Services

David Furr was the remaining member of the team who did not make the trip; he and his brother were killed two weeks later in an auto accident.^[3]

References

^ "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas C-53 (DC-3) N51071 Evansville-Dress Regional Airport, IN (EVV)". Aviation-safety.net. 1977-12-13. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
^ "30 Years After 90 Seconds".
^ "Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Google News Archive Search".

38°2′11.89″N 87°31′7.61″W / 38.0366361°N 87.5187806°W / 38.0366361; -87.5187806

[1] "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas C-53 (DC-3) N51071 Evansville-Dress Regional Airport, IN (EVV)". Aviation-safety.net. 1977-12-13. Retrieved 2012-01-29.

[2] "30 Years After 90 Seconds".

[3] "Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Google News Archive Search".

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e University of Evansville
Located in: Evansville, Indiana
Athletics	Evansville Purple Aces Baseball Men's basketball Women's basketball Men's soccer German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium Ford Center
Awards	Richard Wilbur Award
Related	Men's basketball team plane crash Harlaxton Manor
Founded: 1854

v t e Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball
Venues	Roberts Municipal Stadium (1956–2011) Ford Center (2011–present)
Culture & lore	1977 team plane crash
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold

Victims

See also

References