An annual ceremony of remembrance was held at Wichita State University this morning in honor of the 31 WSU football players, administrators and supporters who died in a plane crash in 1970 in the Rocky Mountains.
More than 100 people paid their respects at the ceremony held at the permanent memorial on the university’s campus. Many in attendance wore gold and black, Wichita State University’s colors.
The crash happened on a mountainside in Colorado as the team was traveling to play a game against Utah State. Only nine of the 40 people onboard survived. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the pilots of the plane were at fault for the accident. A second plane carrying the other half of the team took a different route and made it safely to Utah.
University President John Bardo opened the ceremony and remarked that 45 years ago today, the University and the community came together as the result of the tragedy.
The name of each person killed in the crash was read aloud and friends or family members of the deceased placed a rose in a single vase at the base of the memorial. The occasion was somber as the vase was slowly filled with long stemmed yellow roses--31 in all.
KMUW will air Abigail Wilson's special radio documentary remembering the victims and survivors of the plane crash today at 5 p.m.
More: The Pieces That Remain: Remembering The Wichita State Plane Crash
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Follow Abigail Wilson on Twitter @AbigailKMUW.
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