But he said the crash victims will never be forgotten. Gerleman is one of the lucky ones who gets to continue his life today. “We come to celebrate and be thankful for the lives that we have, that we were spared and given, and be thankful that we were the ones that survived, but to also honor those guys that never had a chance to live a life like we did.” 2, members of the team come back to Wichita to remember those who lost their lives on that day years ago. “The crash was the most traumatic event in all of our lives,” Gerleman said Wednesday.Įvery year on Oct. Pilot error, including poor in-flight decisions and inadequate pre-flight planning, was reported as the official cause of the crash. The first plane, however, wasn’t at the airport.Īt 1:14 p.m., the first plane carrying passengers made up of WSU football players, coaches, and Athletic Director Bert Katzenmeyer crashed into the side of a mountain eight miles west of Silver Plume, Colorado. It was a clear and calm day, and Gerleman’s plane, the second of two that was scheduled to land, arrived safely in Logan. Wichita State was traveling to Logan, Utah, for a game against Utah State in the upcoming days. Oil was spilling from his plane’s engine. This was the 49th annual ceremony in honor of the lives lost during the plane crash.īruce Gerleman looked out the window of his plane. Melissa Hasty, Director of Campus Ministry, reads the prayer at WSU’s Football Memorial ’70.
