The Okie State tragedy and a question

**LutherClone** · 01-26-2011, 01:29 PM

I did a quick search (emphasis on quick) and didn't see a thread on this so feel free to merge/close/etc.

I watched the ESPN OTL piece on Nate Flemming and the Okie State plane crash in 2001. It's a moving piece, certainly worth the watch:
OTL: Nate Fleming - ESPN Video - ESPN

In the piece they talk a little bit about "the Cowboy fleet" which consisted of donors who provided their aircraft for the team to travel on. It made me wonder how Iowa State flies. Does the AD use donor planes (do we have enough donors with planes for this to work?) or does the AD just foot the bill? This question is not meant to take away from the loss at Okie State, just spun off from it. I can't imagine how the Cowboys dealt with that. Truly tragic.

**creightonclone** · 01-26-2011, 01:50 PM

I saw the piece on Gameday Saturday morning. Do you know what stuck out most in my mind? Eddie Sutton's smirk. Why was that guy smiling? I couldn't believe it. He didn't look sad at all. Did anyone else notice that?

**chuckd4735** · 01-26-2011, 01:52 PM

I know there are a few donors with planes at the Ames Airport that Iowa State uses for things.

**jaretac** · 01-26-2011, 01:59 PM

Originally Posted by chuckd4735

I know there are a few donors with planes at the Ames Airport that Iowa State uses for things.

I think most of the time they charter a plane for teams and use the ISU plane for administrative purposes. I think JP and the coaches also use donors planes from time to time when they don't want people to know what is going on or there other options are exhausted.

**hiwhatis** · 01-26-2011, 03:04 PM

For real??? This is pretty sensitive material and i guarantee that Eddie Sutton was affected by this as much as anyone else. Read this article and check out some of the other links that are on this page. Him and his son really went through a lot after that and most people don't think they've ever recovered. Truly a tragic situation
ESPN - OTL: Dear Nate - E-ticket[/URL]

**wxman1** · 01-26-2011, 03:58 PM

Unless you on staff/or on the team for the teams I don't think any of us really know. The university has blocked their planes and I believe the one's that the donors do have are blocked as well.

**cyflier** · 01-26-2011, 04:12 PM

I used to work at the Ames Airport. The basketball teams alway flew on chartered turbo props. The coaches would sometimes charter planes for recruiting trips. ISU had a King Air turbo prop when I was there, and I dont think I ever saw the AD or any coach use it. I think I remember one of the ladies in charge of team travel saying that if a coach wanted to use the ISU plane, the athletic department would have to charter it from ISU and the cost wasnt worth it. This was around 2002-2004

**Cyclone1985** · 01-26-2011, 04:54 PM

I would venture to say that this sure didn't help Sutton's drinking problem.

**Ames** · 01-26-2011, 04:56 PM

I've traveled with the team before and just randomly ran into them at airports. It was always a charter jet out of Ames or just regular passenger planes out of DSM. I may have only been invited when they had a nice charter jet so who knows; I never asked what the norm was.

On the charter jet one trip the flight attendant told me that was mainly what they did for several months... fly random college bb teams around to road games. "Her teams" were on some kind of win streak that we snapped at the time.

**wxman1** · 01-26-2011, 05:40 PM

The basketball teams currently fly on charter jets usually modified citations.

**Dormeezy** · 01-26-2011, 05:42 PM

Hmm.. this is interesting. Amazingly until seeing this thread I was not aware at all about the OSU plane crash. Of course I was just 14 at the time. I suppose I've probably heard something about it but had forgotten.

**Clone96** · 01-27-2011, 07:46 AM

It happened ten years ago today, January 27th, 2001. ESPNU had a good special about it. Had no idea it took that much of a toll on the Sutton family. Like Doug Gotleid said it totally changed Eddie Sutton as having to call ten families and tell them that their son or husband isn't coming home could only do.

**CycloneYoda** · 01-27-2011, 08:17 AM

Originally Posted by Clone96

It happened ten years ago today, January 27th, 2001. ESPNU had a good special about it. Had no idea it took that much of a toll on the Sutton family. Like Doug Gotleid said it totally changed Eddie Sutton as having to call ten families and tell them that their son or husband isn't coming home could only do.

Yeah, he went from booze to pills.

**soccercy** · 01-27-2011, 08:57 AM

Depends on the team as well, I traveled with soccer, with the team and to recruiting events, always went commercial.

**bringmagicback** · 01-27-2011, 04:20 PM

Cody Canada from Cross Canadian Ragweed wrote this song in honor of those who lost their lives on that flight thought I would share

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7L68o_8sEg&feature=related]YouTube - Cross Canadian Ragweed On a Cloud from Chicago[/ame]

Also a story about the aniversary

Victims of Oklahoma St. plane crash remembered - The Denver Post