Everything about Southern Airways Flight 932 totally explained
Southern Airways Flight 932 was a chartered
Southern Airways DC-9 commercial jet flight from
Stallings Field (ISO) in
Kinston, North Carolina to the
Huntington-Tri-State/Milton Airport (HTS) in
Ceredo, West Virginia. At 7:35 pm on
November 14,
1970, the aircraft crashed into a hill just short of the Tri-State Airport, killing all seventy-five people on board. The plane was carrying thirty-seven members of the
Marshall University Thundering Herd
football squad, eight members of the coaching staff, 25
boosters, four flight crew members, and one employee of the charter company. The team was returning home after a 17-14 loss against the
East Carolina University Pirates (now their
conference rivals) at
Ficklen Stadium in
Greenville, North Carolina. At the time, Marshall University's athletic teams rarely traveled by plane, with most away games within easy driving distance of the
Huntington, West Virginia campus. The team had originally planned to cancel the flight, but changed plans and chartered the Southern Airways DC-9.
Aircraft
The aircraft involved was a 95-seat, twin jet engine Douglas DC-9-31 with tail registration N97S. The airliner's crew was Captain Frank H. Abbot, 47; First Officer Jerry Smith, 28; Stewardesses Pat Vaught and Charlene Poat. All were qualified for the flight. Another employee of Southern Airways, Danny Deese, was aboard the flight to coordinate charter activities. This flight was the first flight that year for the Marshall football team. As a result of the impact, the plane burst into flames and created a swath of charred ground 95 feet (29 m) wide and 279 feet (85 m) long. The fire was very intense, the fuselage being described as a "powder-like substance" by the
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB); the remains of six individuals that were discovered on the plane were never identified.
The board made three recommendations as a result of this accident, including equipment recommendations within aircraft for heads up display equipment, ground monitoring radar, and surveillance and inspection of flight operations.
On
November 15,
1970 a memorial service was held at the
Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse, where there were moments of silence, remembrances and prayers.
The crash of flight 932 almost led to the university's football program being discontinued. The program had previously been sanctioned by the NCAA for improper recruiting practices, and was thrown out of the
Mid-American Conference as a result (they returned in the
1990s). The head coach of the program,
Rick Tolley, was among the crash victims.
Jack Lengyel was named to take Tolley's place on
March 12,
1971 after
Dick Bestwick, the first choice for the job, backed out just after one week and returned to
Georgia Tech. Lengyel, who came from a coaching job at
the College of Wooster, was hired by the recently hired athletic director,
Joe McMullen. Lengyel had played for McMullen at the
University of Akron in the 1950s.
Jack Lengyel, students and the Thundering Herd football fans, however, convinced the acting President of Marshall University, Dr.
Donald N. Dedmon, to reconsider. In the weeks afterward, Lengyel, with the aid of receivers coach
Red Dawson, a coach on the old staff who had recruiting duties in the area and had driven back from the East Carolina game and thus wasn't on Flight 932, brought together a group of players who were on the junior varsity during the 1970 season and other students and athletes in other sports. The committee decided upon one major memorial within the campus, a plaque and memorial garden at
Fairfield Stadium and a granite
cenotaph at the Spring Hill Cemetery; the Memorial Student Center was also designated a memorial as well.
On
November 12,
1972, the Memorial Fountain was dedicated at the campus entrance to the Memorial Student Center. The bronze 17×23-foot (5×7-meter) statue was created by artist Burl Jones of
Sissonville and cost $150,000. It is based upon ideas by John and Ann Krieger of Huntington. It was donated to the university by Marshall fans and is attached to the
Joan C. Edwards Stadium on the west facade. It was unveiled to thousands only 90 minutes before the game with
Miami University.
On
December 11,
2006, a memorial plaque was dedicated at the plane crash site. The ceremony featured guest speakers Red Dawson and Jack Hardin. The
Ceredo and
Kenova fire departments were recognized at the event. Another plaque memorializing the 1970 Marshall football team was unveiled at East Carolina University on the same day and can be seen at the guest team entrance of Dowdy Ficklen Stadium. Featured speakers were Chancellor Steve Ballard, Athletic Director
Terry Holland, Pirates’ broadcaster Jeff Charles, and Marshall President Stephen Kopp.
The memorial plaque reads:
On Nov. 14, 1970, 75 people died in the worst sports related air tragedy in U.S. history, when a Southern Airways DC-9 crashed into a hillside nearby. The victims included 36 Marshall University football players, 9 coaches and administrators, 25 fans and air crew of 5. No one survived this horrific disaster.
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A memorial bell tower is being planned for a location on
WV 75 near Exit 1 along
Interstate 64.
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