Investigators Checking OSU Plane Crash

Jan. 28, 2001 -- Investigators are racing against an incoming snowstorm, at a debris field perhaps a mile long, to find the cause of a plane crash that killed 10 Oklahoma State University basketball players and staff.

Investigators still do not know what caused the Beechcraft King Air 200 turbo prop plane to crash in a snowstorm Saturday. Much of the plane's remains rested today in a snow-covered field near a Dairy Barn in Byers, Colo., 40 miles east of Denver.

"The debris and personal effects are scattered over a wide area in a snow-covered pasture," said police Sgt. Craig Coleman, "luggage, pieces of clothing, pieces of mangled metal."

John Hammerschmidt, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said NTSB investigators arrived at noon local time. They will look for any mechanical problems with the plane, and try to determine if pilot error or weather conditions were factors in the crash.

So far, no flight data recorders have been found and there was no distress call received from the pilots before the crash.

The FBI has a forensics team at the site to help identify remains and determine if there needs to be a criminal investigation.

But investigators are worried that an incoming snowstorm could bury evidence. And Hammerschmidt said this afternoon that the debris field is so big the NTSB has yet to even measure it.

"It looks as though this debris field, which is linear in shape, extends approximately one-half mile to a mile in length," he said. "It appears there are some pieces of the aircraft that are located in the front part of the debris field a fair distance from where the initial fuselage impact is. From that point of impact, then you have another approximately, I'm guessing maybe 100 yards more in the debris field."

Returning From Colorado Game

The plane crashed 20 minutes after takeoff as the Oklahoma State basketball team was returning from a game in Denver against the University of Colorado.

Among the dead are OSU players Nate Fleming and Dan Lawson, both 21, four staff members, a team announcer, two pilots and a student manager.

"The players are handling this with each other and obviouslyare grieving very deeply," said said the school's sports information director SteveBuzzard.

Fleming was a sophomore guard from Edmond and Lawson was ajunior guard from Detroit.

At OSU, in Stillwater, Okla., several players and girlfriends of teammates came in andout of the school's basketball office crying and consoling each other.

Tom Dirato, with the OSU Broadcast Group, said the whole organization is devastated.

"This is part of a family in the athletic department," Dirato said. "If anything like this happens it affects many, many people."

A Sad Day for OSU

Witnesses said they heard something wrong with the plane before it crashed around 8:30 p.m. ET.

"It sounded like it was coming right at us," said Larry Pearson, a property owner near the crash site. "Just saw a big ball of fire when it hit the ground. It was so overcast, we couldn't see anything. … We could hear the motors spitting and sputting."

The plane was one of three planes carrying OSU players that left the Jefferson County Airport in snowy weather.

The the two other chartered corporate jets landed in Stillwater safely.

Some within the organization said seniority determines who flies in which plane.

"There is a pecking order on who goes where," Dirato said. "It's not a randomjust get on a plane."

The university said that counseling staff will be available to all the players.

The Oklahoma State team had a Big 12 conference matchup Saturdayagainst the University of Colorado, losing 81-71 to end a five-gamewinning streak. The team had a 13-4 overall record, 4-2 in leagueplay.

ABCNEWS Radio Steve Walsh and the Associated Press contributed to this report.