Kobe Bryant : Sports Star Latest to die Aircraft Crash – See List of Sportsmen That Have perished ! www.playplay.com.ng
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- Published: 28 January 2020
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Kobe Bryant latest sports star to die in tragic aviation crash
Kobe Bryant dying in a helicopter crash Sunday at age 41 along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna sent shock-waves throughout the sports world. It also conjured memories of other athletes who were also tragically killed in either plane or helicopter accidents. Here are some athletes who died in aviation tragedies.
Thurman Munson
On Aug. 2, 1979, Munson crashed while trying to land his Cessna
Citation aircraft at Akron-Canton Airport. He suffered a broken
neck as a result of the crash and died of asphyxiation at age 32.
The other two passengers survived. Munson, a seven-time All-Star
catcher, was in his 11th year with the Yankees, who retired No. 15
and dedicated a plaque in Monument Park to him immediately
following his death.
Rescue workers inspect the wreckage of a plane crash in which
Thurman Munson died.AP
Roberto Clemente
Clemente was killed while on an emergency relief flight on Dec. 31,
1972 that he had arranged to help those affected by a massive
earthquake in Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua. After
learning that his first three flights had been diverted by Somoza
government officials, Clemente decided to go on the fourth flight
to ensure its arrival. The Douglas DC-7 cargo plane that he flew on
had a history of mechanical problems and was overloaded by 4,200
pounds, ultimately crashing into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast
of Puerto Rico due to engine failure. His body was never recovered,
and all five people aboard died. The Pirates retired No. 21 in 1973
for Clemente, who was 38 years old.
Roy Halladay
While flying an ICON A5 amphibious plane, Halladay crashed into the
Gulf of Mexico on Nov. 7, 2017. Halladay was the only person on the
aircraft. Air traffic control said they did not receive any mayday
distress signals from Halladay, whose autopsy later revealed he had
morphine, amphetamine and a sleeping aid in his system, along with
a trace amount of alcohol. Halladay was 40 years old. The Phillies
suspended use of Halladay’s No. 34 for the 2018 season to honor
him, and the Blue Jays retired No. 32 on Opening Day of the 2018
season.
Cory Lidle
While flying a Cirrus SR20 airplane with his co-pilot/flight
instructor, Lidle fatally crashed into an Upper East Side high-rise
on Oct. 11, 2006. The plane was reportedly about to fly into
restricted airspace before a strong wind blew the plane into the
building. There were 26 others injured in the accident, many of
whom were New York City first responders. Lidle, who was 34, was
the third Yankee killed in a plane crash. The Yankees wore black
armbands for the entire 2007 season in Lidle’s memory.
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
A Yakovlev Yak-42 charter flight carrying players and the coaching
staff of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl professional ice hockey team of
the Russian Kontinental Hockey League crashed during takeoff on
Sept. 7, 2011. Forty-four of the 45 people on board were killed as
a result of the aircraft overrunning the runway and striking an
antenna mast before crashing on the bank of the Volga river. It was
later discovered that the pilot had used falsified documents to
earn permission to fly the aircraft, while the crew members lacked
the training necessary to fly the aircraft they were on. Twenty-six
players were killed, and former Ranger Alexander Karpovtsev, who
was an assistant coach for Lokomotiv, was among those killed.
Russian rescuers and investigators work at the crash site of a
plane with Russian ice hockey team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in 2011.AFP
via Getty Images
Marshall football
Returning from a game in North Carolina, a DC-9 domestic United
States commercial jet carrying 37 members of the Marshall
University football team, plus eight coaches, 25 team boosters and
five crew members crashed into a hill outside of the Tri-State
Airport on Nov. 14, 1970. The aircraft collided with the tops of
trees before bursting into flames.
Wichita State football
More than a month earlier on Oct. 2, 1970, 14 Wichita State
football players died when a Martin 404 crashed into a hillside
near Silver Plume, Colorado. Thirty-one people died, including 14
players on the Wichita State football team, which was on its way to
play Utah State.
Rocky Marciano
The day before his 46th birthday, Marciano was a passenger in a
small private plane crash on August 31 1969. Traveling to Des
Moines, Iowa through bad weather in the middle of the night, the
inexperienced pilot manning the plane tried to land but hit a tree
two miles short of the runway. The pilot, Marciano and Lew Farrell,
another former boxer, were all killed on impact.
Oklahoma State basketball
A Beechcraft Super King Air 200 carrying two players of the
Oklahoma State basketball team, as well as six broadcasters and
members of the coaching staff, crashed in a field outside of
Denver, Colorado on Jan. 27, 2001. The crash occurred in the middle
of a snowstorm on the way home from a loss to the Colorado
Buffaloes. Oklahoma state has a memorial entitled “Remember the
Ten” inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Enlarge ImageOklahoma State plane crash
An Adams County Sheriffs Department official, and a Bennet Fire
Department firefighter inspect the 2001 plane wreckage outside
Byers, Colorado in which members of the Oklahoma State basketball
team were killed.AFP via Getty Images
Payne Stewart
While traveling from Florida to Texas for The Tour Championship on
Oct. 25, 1999, Stewart was killed in a Learjet crash. The aircraft
failed to pressurize and all on board died due to hypoxia, flying
on autopilot until it ultimately ran out of fuel and crashed into a
field in South Dakota. Stewart was 42.
Evansville basketball
All but one member of the 1977 Evansville basketball team died in a
plane crash on Dec. 13, 1977 on the way to play a game against
Middle Tennessee. The plane crashed on takeoff, with the National
Transportation Safety Board blaming the accident on the pilot’s
failure to remove gust locks on the aileron and the rudder before
takeoff. The plane’s baggage compartment was also overloaded, which
apparently played a part in the crash as well. The lone member of
the team who did not die was David Furr, who was out for the season
with an ankle injury and was not on the plane. However, two weeks
after the crash Furr and his younger brother were killed in a car
accident.
Chapecoense
On Nov. 28, 2016, a charter flight carrying the Brazilian
Chapecoense soccer team crashed near Medellin, Colombia. The team
was on their way to compete in the 2016 Copa Sudamericana Finals
before the accident, which killed 71 of the 77 people on board. The
cause off the crash was said to be fuel exhaustion, due to a shoddy
flight plan by the airline, and the pilot’s failure to declare an
emergency and alert air traffic control after fuel levels became
low.
Old Christians Club rugby
A chartered flight for members of the Uruguayan Old Christians Club
rugby team, family, supporters and friends crashed on a glacier in
the Andes mountains on Oct. 13 1972. Twenty-eight of the 45 people
on board survived the crash and endured 72 days before 16 people
were rescued. Faced with starvation, survivors resorted to
anthropophagy. An inexperienced co-pilot mistakenly believed they
had reached their destination despite instruments reading
otherwise. The aircraft then struck the mountain and lost both its
wings before crashing.
Jim Hardin
Hardin crashed his Beech 25-C33A in Key West, Florida on March 9,
1991 shortly after taking off. The propeller of his aircraft failed
from fatigue and crashed despite Hardin’s effort to return to Key
West International Airport to make an emergency landing. It was
widely believed that Hardin, the one-time Yankee who died aged 47,
steered the plane away from crashing into a nearby baseball field
where young children were playing.