Wichita - Denver - Logan

On October 2, 1970 at 01:00 PM, Wichita - Denver - Logan experienced a crash involving Martin 404, operated by Golden Eagle Aviation - USA, with the event recorded near Silver Plume Colorado.

The flight was categorized as charter/taxi (non scheduled revenue flight) and the reported phase was flight at a mountains crash site.

40 people were known to be on board, 32 fatalities were recorded, 8 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 80.0%.

Crew on board: 3, crew fatalities: 2, passengers on board: 37, passenger fatalities: 30, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The airplane was chartered by the Wichita State University football team for a special flight from Wichita to Logan with an intermediate stop in Denver, carrying players and supporters. After departure from Denver-Stapleton Airport, the crew went off course and followed a wrong track. While cruising at an altitude of 10,800 feet, the airplane struck trees and crashed on the slope of Mt Trelease (12,447 feet high) located about 10,6 miles west of Silver Plume. Two crew members and 30 passengers were killed while eight other occupants were seriously injured. The aircraft was totally destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire.

Aircraft reference details include registration N464M, MSN 14151, year of manufacture 1952.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 39.6961°, -105.7258°.