Crash like OSU tragedy deemed unlikely here
Incident hits close to home for TCU director of basketball operations

By Chris Gibson
Skiff Staff

Although the Oklahoma State plane crash is a major tragedy, a similar situation probably wouldn’t happen at TCU, said Ross Bailey, associate athletic director for operations.

“We are not in a comparable situation here,” he said. “With a major airport such as (Dallas/Fort Worth International) so close, we are able to fly on commercial jets and haven’t had to use smaller planes. But anytime you are dealing with air travel, you have to consider the risks.”

Aviation investigators said they have found no evidence that engine failure caused the plane carrying eight people associated with the OSU basketball program and two pilots to crash shortly after taking off from Jefferson County Airport on Saturday, killing all 10 aboard.

Engine failure was initially thought to have caused the Beech King Air 200 to crash in a field 40 miles east of Denver, but National Transportation Safety Board investigator Robert Benson said in an Associated Press story that the investigation team is looking at anything from a faulty electrical system to bad weather as the cause.

The crash hits close to home with TCU director of basketball operations Scott Edgar. While Edgar was an assistant at the University of Arkansas, one of his former players was killed in a New Year’s Eve shooting.

“Any group that shares as much as a team does becomes a family, and it is always hard to lose a member of that family,” Edgar said. “A million things go through your mind — hurt, pain, shock. My heart goes out to everyone associated with the OSU program.”

Sports seasons are largely unforgiving to tragedy. While OSU head coach Eddie Sutton’s team’s game against Texas Tech was postponed Tuesday, the team must regroup and prepare for their final games in the Big 12 this season.

Edgar said Sutton must use his talents as a coach and father figure to pull the team together.

“Coach Sutton has to find a way to pull them together,” he said. “He needs to be a stabilizer, a person they can lean on for support. I know what I would do and I’m sure what (OSU) will do: Dedicate the rest of the season and maybe even their lives to those people.

“They were forced to learn a valuable lesson, that life is precious and we need to live our lives one day at a time,” Edgar said.

This report contains material from the Associated Press.

Chris Gibson
c.j.gibson@student.tcu.edu