University of Virginia Library

Hit Treetops

The plane skimmed the treetops of a ridge
two miles west of the runway and plowed into
a second ridge cart wheeling wing for wing
before it exploded killing all aboard.

The accident has been called "the worst
domestic air crash this year" by a Federal
Aviation Agency spokesman in Washington.

It is the second air accident involving a
football charter within two months. A plane
chartered from Jack Richards Corp. to carry
players from Wichita State crashed in the
mountains of Colorado on October 2.

It was also the second time that a former
coach of the University had been killed. Head
coach Ben Wilson, a former offensive
coordinator for the University, died with his
players in Colorado.

The battered altimeters of the jetliner may
hold a clue to the cause of the accident,
government sources in Washington said
yesterday.