NBC Sports Chairman Ebersol Survives Plane Crash
Two Deaths Reported in Charter Accident; Son Missing
By JOHN MARSHALL, AP Sports




GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (Nov. 29) -- NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol and his college-aged son emerged from the fiery wreckage of a corporate jet after it crashed during takeoff and burst into flames, killing two crew members. Rescuers were still searching for Ebersol's younger son, whose seat was missing from the smoldering ruins.

The 18-seat charter jet with six people on board crashed Sunday morning at Montrose Regional Airport in southwest Colorado, not far from the Telluride Ski Area. A heavy snowstorm had lightened up before the plane prepared to depart for South Bend, Ind., where Ebersol's son Charles is a senior at the University of Notre Dame.



AP
Flames rise from the site of the jet crash Sunday.


A witness said the impact ripped the cockpit from the fuselage, and that Charles Ebersol helped his 57-year-old father to safety through the front of the plane.

A second son, 14-year-old Edward, was missing, Denver NBC affiliate KUSA-TV reported. The station said crews searched by helicopter and on the ground, but that even ''Teddy'' Ebersol's plane seat could not be found. A Montrose County Sheriff's spokeswoman said the boy had not been located by late Sunday.

The sheriff's office also said two people were killed in the crash, though their identities were not released. KUSA said the victims were the pilot and co-pilot. Hospital officials said three men were treated after the crash. Federal officials said the aircraft also had a flight attendant on board.

Ebersol's wife, actress Susan Saint James, was not on the plane, the station said. The family lives in Connecticut.



Getty Images
Dick Ebersol became president of NBC Sports in 1989 after working as an entertainment executive.
"¢ Ebersol Bio

Eyewitness Chuck Distel told The Associated Press by phone that he was driving on a highway parallel to the runway when he saw the plane skid sideways through a fence and brush before hitting a roadway that ripped the cockpit from the fuselage, leaving it an unrecognizable wreck. The Denver Post reported that the jet lifted off briefly before crashing.

Distel said Charles helped his father through the front of the plane and that the pair were walking around outside the wreckage as Distel and an airport official arrived. He said Ebersol didn't say a word as the younger man cried and yelled ''Oh my God! Oh my God!''

''I had to think for a second, 'who are these people?''' he said. ''They weren't severely injured, they were in shock.'' Distel said Charles was able to climb into an ambulance, while the elder Ebersol was loaded onto a stretcher.

The airport official yelled into the wreckage for survivors, but heard none. The wreckage left a burning trail of jet fuel and burst into flames, forcing Distel and other rescuers to get away.

Linda McCool, a nursing supervisor at Montrose Memorial Hospital, said three men were taken to the hospital after the crash and later transferred to other hospitals. Dan Prinster, vice president of St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, said two people were moved there from Montrose Memorial and another patient was being flown to a burn unit in Denver. Neither McCool nor Prinster would release any other information on the survivors.

A weekend storm that covered most of the state dumped more than 3 feet of snow in the Montrose area and Distel said there was light snow and fog at the time of the crash. It was not known if weather was a factor and investigators from the FAA and National Safety Transportation Board were en route to the airport, 185 miles southwest of Denver.

The Montrose airport is one of several that serves Telluride, a popular ski destination for celebrities.

The plane was identified as a CL-602 Challenger, which could hold up to 19 passengers, registered to Jet Alliance of Millville, N.J. The company offered its condolences in a statement, but said it had no additional information.

Known as a television innovator, Ebersol has a long history at NBC.
He became the network's director of late-night programming in 1974 replaced Lorne Michaels for a rocky tenure as executive producer of ''Saturday Night Live'' in the early 1980s. Ebersol, of Litchfield, Conn., became president of NBC Sports in 1989 and recently signed a contract that keeps him at the network through 2012.

Ebersol is best-known for his love affair with the Olympics. A protege of Olympics-coverage pioneer Roone Arledge, he worked as an ABC researcher at the 1968 Grenoble Winter Games and carried on Arledge's philosophy of presenting the Olympics through storytelling, rather than emphasizing results.

''He is very innovative,'' Fox Sports chairman David Hill said Sunday. ''He's obviously a great leader and, from my perspective, a very worthy competitor.''


11/29/04 06:57 EST

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20041128180809990001

From the Canadian Press, apparently the plane was made by Bombardier. It is the third Bombardier-made plane to crash in 2 months.



NBC executive Dick Ebersol survives crash that kills 2; son believed dead

John Marshall
Canadian Press


November 29, 2004


MONTROSE, Colo. (CP) - NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol and his college-age son emerged from the wreckage of a chartered jet built by Bombardier Inc. of Montreal after the plane crashed, but authorities said Monday his 14-year-old son was presumed dead in the wreckage.

The 18-seat aircraft, identified as a CL-602 Challenger, with six people on board crashed Sunday morning as it was taking off from Montrose Regional Airport in southwest Colorado, not far from the Telluride Ski Area. Two crew members were also killed.

It is the third time a Bombardier-built plane has crashed within two months.

The plane slid sideways into a road and the impact ripped the cockpit from the fuselage, and Ebersol's older son Charles helped his 57-year-old father through the gap, a witness said.

Matt Eilts, Montrose County chief deputy coroner, said Monday that a "complete and thorough search" revealed no sign of the second son on the plane, 14-year-old Edward, anywhere around the crash site.

"We believe at this time that the boy has probably perished within the crash," Eilts said. He said the search in the wreckage would get underway when federal crash investigators arrived later Monday.

Leo Knappen, spokesman for Bombardier Aerospace's business aircraft division, said experts from the company are assisting with the investigation.

A heavy snowstorm had eased up before the plane prepared to take off for South Bend, Ind., where Charles Ebersol is a senior at the University of Notre Dame. There was no immediate word if the weather was a factor in the crash.

Airport manager Scott Brownlee said he did not know if Ebersol's plane had been de-iced before takeoff. He said that would have been the pilot's decision but added that at least one commercial jet was de-iced before taking off Sunday.

The pilot and a flight attendant were killed, said Michael O'Connor, regional duty officer with the Federal Aviation Administration in Washington state. The co-pilot was hospitalized in Denver, while Dick and Charles Ebersol were hospitalized in Grand Junction, witnesses said.

Ebersol's wife of 23 years, Susan Saint James, who starred in the television shows Kate and Allie and McMillan and Wife, was not on the plane. The family lives in Connecticut.

Kevin Sullivan, NBC Universal's vice-president for sports communication, told the Rocky Mountain News late Sunday that Saint James would have "no comment at this time. She requested privacy, and she is at the hospital with Dick and Charlie," Sullivan said.

Neither NBC Sports nor St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction released any information on Dick and Charles Ebersol's conditions.

The coroner's office identified the victims as Luis Alberto Polanco Espaillat, 50, of the Dominican Republic and Warren Richardson III, 36, of Coral Gables, Fla., but did not say which was the pilot.

More at:

http://www.canada.com/sports/story.html?id=92f58b98-cd63-45e9-a3dd-0a86a3428ce3

This is really tragic and sad. My heart goes out to this family over the loss of their young son. Interestingly enough, the coroner made the comment that he would not release details of the condition of the remains found believed to be Ebersol's son. I must say the families of sr111 certainly didn't get that kind of respect from the medical examiner (coroner) in Canada. In fact he took it upon himself to give out details that hurt so bad I can't even talk or think about it to this day.

AV Web today is saying that the pilot didn't de-ice when dropping Susan Saint James off and taking off for the next destination. It stayed on the ground for 45 minutes to an hour and 'The pilot chose not to wait for the 10,000-foot runway, 17/35, to be plowed, and instead chose 13/31, which is 7,500 feet long.'