Back to the East Carolina Pirates Newsfeed

Marshall plane crash remembered

Related Topics: Tri-State Airport

Tuesday marked 47 years since the tragic plane crash that took the lives of 37 Marshall football players after East Carolina University’s football team defeated Marshall 17-14 in 1970.

Just two miles from landing at the Tri-State Airport in Kenova, West Virginia, the Thundering Herds chartered jet clipped a tree line and crashed on Nov. 14, 1970. All 75 passengers on board died, including 37 players, eight coaches, five crew members and 25 boosters.

According to National Transportation Safety Board records, the low-flying plane crashed into a rainy, foggy hillside around 7:30 p.m., and was likely the result of improper use of cockpit instrument data or a glitch with the plane's altimeter.