Air Indiana

Air Indiana was a United States aviation brand associated with charter air transportation during the 1970s. Publicly available reference material identifies the company primarily through Air Indiana Flight 216, a charter flight that carried the University of Evansville men's basketball team from Evansville Regional Airport toward Nashville International Airport on December 13, 1977. The aircraft was a Douglas DC-3 registered as N51071. Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft lost control and crashed near Evansville, Indiana. The flight was arranged to transport the Evansville Purple Aces to a scheduled game against Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The passengers included the team's players, coaching staff, and other people connected with the program. Head coach Bobby Watson was the only coach aboard because his assistants were away on scouting assignments. Athletic director Jim Byers had intended to travel but remained in Evansville to interview a baseball-program candidate. The crash resulted in the deaths of all members of the 1977 Evansville basketball team who were aboard, as well as other passengers and crew. Freshman player David Furr was not on the aircraft because of an ankle injury, but he and his brother Byron later died in a separate automobile accident, leaving no surviving player from that team. The National Transportation Safety Board attributed the accident to a combination of flight-control and loading problems. The investigation found that gust locks on the aircraft's right aileron and rudder had not been removed before takeoff. It also determined that the baggage compartment was overloaded, shifting the aircraft's center of gravity toward the rear. According to the investigation's conclusions, either problem alone might not necessarily have made continued flight impossible, but their combination left the overweight aircraft difficult or impossible to control after departure. The accident is the principal documented event associated with the Air Indiana name in the supplied reference material. It led the University of Evansville to cancel the remainder of the basketball season and remains commemorated through memorials, including the university's Weeping Basketball monument and a memorial at the Ford Center. The available material does not establish Air Indiana's founding date, ownership, route network, current or final operating status, website, financial performance, or executive roster. Those fields are therefore left unspecified rather than inferred.

Air Indiana is documented in the available reference material chiefly as the aviation operator associated with Flight 216, a charter movement arranged for the University of Evansville basketball team in December 1977. The flight was scheduled to take the Evansville Purple Aces from Evansville Regional Airport in Indiana to Nashville International Airport, from which the team was traveling to a game against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The aircraft was a Douglas DC-3, registration N51071, with pilot Ty Van Pham and copilot Gaston Ruiz identified in the accident account. On December 13, 1977, at approximately 7:22 p.m. Central Standard Time, the aircraft lost control shortly after takeoff and crashed. The passenger list included members of the university's men's basketball team, head coach Bobby Watson, and other travelers connected with the trip. Watson was the only coach aboard because his assistants were conducting scouting work elsewhere. Athletic director Jim Byers had planned to take the flight but stayed behind in Evansville for an interview related to the baseball program. The accident investigation found two central contributing factors. First, gust locks had not been removed from the right aileron and rudder before departure. These locks restricted the control surfaces needed to maneuver the aircraft. Second, the baggage compartment was overloaded, and the baggage shifted the aircraft's center of gravity toward the rear. The NTSB determined that the aircraft might have remained airborne if only one of these conditions had existed, but the combined effect of the restricted controls and rearward loading made the overweight aircraft uncontrollable. Four occupants were found alive by rescuers, but three died at the scene and the fourth died later. The crash killed the members of the 1977 Evansville team who were traveling. Freshman player David Furr was absent because an ankle injury had kept him out of the season. Two weeks later, Furr and his brother Byron died in a motor-vehicle accident near Newton, Illinois. As a result, the university's entire 1977 team was lost, and Evansville cancelled the remainder of the basketball season. The event became a major part of the historical record associated with Air Indiana. The University of Evansville established the Weeping Basketball memorial, whose engraved names include the players killed in the crash and Charles Goad of Goad Equipment Company, who had been invited on the flight by his friend Bob Hudson. A second memorial is located at the Ford Center, the later home venue of the Purple Aces. The supplied sources do not provide reliable information about Air Indiana's incorporation, founders, ownership, broader fleet, destinations, management, or eventual disposition, so the company's wider corporate history remains undocumented in this dossier.

• 1977

  Air Indiana Flight 216 crashes after departure from Evansville

  [1]Air Indiana Flight 216en.wikipedia.org

  A DC-3 carrying the University of Evansville basketball team crashed shortly after takeoff during a charter flight to Nashville. The accident became the defining documented event associated with Air Indiana.

• 1977

  Investigation attributes the crash to control locks and aircraft loading

  [1]Air Indiana Flight 216en.wikipedia.org

  The NTSB identified engaged gust locks on the right aileron and rudder, together with an overloaded baggage compartment and rearward center-of-gravity shift, as the critical causal combination.

A regional United States aviation and charter-air-service brand associated with passenger transportation in Indiana.

• Air transportation

  Charter passenger flights

  Air Indiana is associated in the available material with charter passenger transportation rather than a documented scheduled consumer route network. Its best-documented service was the 1977 flight arranged to carry the University of Evansville basketball team from Indiana toward Tennessee for an away game.

• 1977

  Investigation and safety findings following Flight 216Other

  Background

  The Air Indiana-operated charter flight crashed shortly after takeoff while carrying the University of Evansville basketball team.

  Action taken

  The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the accident and attributed it to engaged flight-control gust locks combined with an overloaded baggage compartment and rearward center-of-gravity shift.

  Aftermath

  The accident caused the deaths of the traveling team members, crew, and other passengers. The University of Evansville cancelled the remainder of the basketball season, and memorials were later established.

  Source

• 1977

  Air Indiana Flight 216 crashes shortly after takeoff from Evansville[1]Air Indiana Flight 216en.wikipedia.org

  Other

  A Douglas DC-3 operated for Air Indiana crashed shortly after departing Evansville Regional Airport on a charter flight carrying the University of Evansville basketball team toward Nashville. The accident killed the players and other passengers aboard, together with the flight crew.

• 1977

  NTSB identifies control-lock and loading failures in Flight 216[1]Air Indiana Flight 216en.wikipedia.org

  Regulation · Other

  The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the aircraft departed with gust locks still engaged on the right aileron and rudder, while excess baggage shifted the center of gravity rearward. The combination prevented effective control of the aircraft after takeoff.

1. 1Air Indiana Flight 216en.wikipedia.org