Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball team plane crash

The Oklahoma State University Cowboys basketball team plane crash occurred on January 27, 2001, at 19:37 EST, when a Beechcraft Super King Air 200, registration N81PF, carrying two players on the Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball team along with six Oklahoma State broadcasters and members of the Oklahoma State coaching staff, crashed in a field 40 miles (64 km) east of Denver,^[1] near Strasburg, in the U.S. state of Colorado. The pilot had become disoriented in a snow storm.^[2][3] The plane was flying from Jefferson County Airport to Stillwater Regional Airport after the team's loss to the Colorado Buffaloes.

Oklahoma State basketball team plane crash

Beechcraft Super King Air 200 similar to accident aircraft
Accident
Date	January 27, 2001
Summary	Spatial disorientation in snow storm
Site	Strasburg, Colorado, United States 39°44′48″N 104°15′0″W / 39.74667°N 104.25000°W / 39.74667; -104.25000Coordinates: 39°44′48″N 104°15′0″W / 39.74667°N 104.25000°W / 39.74667; -104.25000
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Beechcraft Super King Air 200
Operator	Jet Express Services
Registration	N81PF
Passengers	8
Crew	2
Fatalities	10
Survivors	0

The plane was carrying two crew members (pilot Denver Mills, and co-pilot Bjorn Fahlstrom) and eight passengers involved with Oklahoma State basketball. All 10 individuals died.^[1] Oklahoma State has a memorial erected to them, entitled "Remember the Ten", inside Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Victims

The ten victims were:^[4]

• Kendall C. Durfey, television/radio engineer (born August 1, 1962);
• Bjorn G. Fahlstrom, corporate aviation pilot (born February 13, 1970);
• Nathan Z. Fleming, scholar/athlete (born September 11, 1980);
• William R. Hancock III, media relations coordinator (born April 6, 1969);
• Daniel P. Lawson, Jr., scholar/athlete (born July 28, 1979);
• Brian W. Luinstra, athletic trainer (born July 26, 1971);
• Denver R. Mills, CPA by profession, pilot by passion (born January 31, 1945);
• Pat Noyes, director of basketball operations (born July 11, 1973);
• William B. Tietgens (Bill Teegins), sportscaster/voice of the Cowboys (born July 26, 1952);
• Jared G. Weiberg, student assistant (born March 9, 1978)

See also

• List of accidents involving sports teams
• 2011 Arkansas Piper Cherokee crash – the second plane crash in 10 years to involve an Oklahoma State basketball team

References

1. "ESPN.com - GEN - Investigation continues in Oklahoma State crash". espn.go.com.
2. . www.planecrashmap.com. Archived from the original on June 15, 2012.
3. "In-Flight Electrical System Failure and Loss of Control, Jet Express Services, Raytheon (Beechcraft) Super King Air 200, N81PF, Near Strasburg, Colorado, January 27, 2001" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. January 15, 2003. NTSB/AAR-03/01. Retrieved November 19, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
4. "The Ten".