They simply werent high enough to pitch down and gain the speed necessary to get back ahead of the power curve, and the plane lurched along, continuously decelerating, until it eventually stalled and spun into the ground. For Stephenson and many others, the same painful, unanswerable question still lingers after all these years: What might have been? No one who lived in Evansville in 1977 will ever forget the events of that terrible night, a low point for the university. ", Because Beaven was only in fifth grade at the time, he decided in graduate school decades later to explore the events leading up to and following the crash. Condolences arrived fromPresident Jimmy Carter and across the nation. They knew they were late, and unlike in the scheduled airline business, that was a big problem for a small charter company which relied on large deals with a relatively limited number of institutions. For the 19771978 academic year, the school managed to get its basketball team promoted into Division I, the highest rank, alongside much larger state universities, against which it still managed to put up a fight. Sloan first accepted the head coaching job, but a week later changed his mind. They were found and arrested not long after the bombing. Lawsuits were filed. EVANSVILLE, Ind. When he got there he saw bodies on the ground but at that point really had no idea who the passengers had been. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. In Eldorado, Illinois, the caskets of Mike Duff and Kevin Kingston were side by side on the gym floor where they had played. Many players came from towns short distances from Evansville. Charles Shike, University Comptroller. The Purple Aces had been a juggernaut in the small college basketball world. Editor's note: Mike Joyner, a 1977 graduate of Terre Haute South High School, was a freshman guard on the University of Evansville basketball team killed in the plane crash described below. This process involved placing locks on the control surfaces to prevent them from being damaged by the wind. Its pilots fighting desperately for control, Air Indiana flight 216 made a 180-degree left turn across the adjacent runway 22, then began to descend as the wings lost lift and the plane edged close to a stall. Tom Hileman, the pilot, with his wife, Ami, in the Andes. Within six or seven minutes, the crew managed to get all the passengers into their seats, and the doors were closed by 19:12. Craig Heckendorn, freshman, from Cincinnati, Ohio. The 1977-78 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represented the University of Evansville during the 1977-78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. UEtraveled to Chicago and fell to DePaul, defeated Pittsburgh at Roberts, then lost on the road to an Indiana State team led by Larry Bird. The aircraft lost control and crashed shortly after lift-off. As he tried to take control of the airplane, he found himself with no directional control whatsoever but in fact, this panic-inducing discovery was by far the less serious of the two problems affecting the flight. Teams play and programs carry on, but the tradition that Evansville possesses is the greater thing, because it has a life all its own.. , The team was en route to Logan, Utah. Roberts Stadium became a place of joy again. There wasnt much time to complete the pre-flight checklists, and as the pilots rushed to complete them, they skipped the routine control checks. 'From the Ashes' re-tells chilling story of 1977 Evansville plane crash (WFIE) - Monday marks 44 years since the tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of the University of Evansville men's basketball team. Residents heaped pity upon the only remaining member of the team, freshman David Furr, who had stayed behind due to an ankle injury. Control surfaces are designed to withstand wind blowing from front to back, as in flight, but cant withstand gusts from different directions. Its the story of how Air Indiana Flight 216, which carried the Evansville mens basketball team, crashed after takeoff on Dec. 13, 1977. The crash resulted in 29 deaths, a night that is still felt almost 40 years later in the college town. 10 Controversial Air Crash Conspiracy Theories - Listverse So Atkinson interviewed a total of 76 former staffers, family members and media personalities to shape the story into a 90-minute documentary. Book details U of E basketball's rebound after 1977 tragedy The kids had great potential on and off the floor, Stephenson said recently. By the time the crew taxied the DC-3 to the apron and shut off the engines, the Purple Aces were supposed to have been in Nashville already. Also engraved is an excerpt from the eulogy delivered by school president Wallace Graves at a memorial service: "Out of the agony of this hour we will rise.