Updated Monday, November 28, 2005 10:23 AM MST

MONTROSE — One year ago, on a wet, snowy runway, four families’ lives changed forever.

The day began with little fanfare. A plane with NBC executive Dick Ebersol and his family landed at the Montrose Regional Airport at 9 a.m. The Ebersols owned a house in the area, and Ebersol’s wife, actress Susan Saint James, departed the chartered flight, which was en route to South Bend, Ind.

The Canadair CL-601 Challenger had left Los Angeles and stayed at the airport’s fixed based operator about 50 minutes while it refueled.

The air was cool, about 28 degrees, and calm winds circled the airfield. A storm moved across the Uncompahgre Valley that day, bringing light snow and mist, less than ideal flying conditions.

Preparing for takeoff, the pilot contacted Denver Air Traffic Control and received instrument flight data, as the conditions limited a pilot’s navigation ability. For approximately a minute, the pilot and copilot did preflight checks.

Initially, according to the preliminary crash report, the takeoff proceeded smoothly. But within seconds after liftoff the flight turned tragic. Witnesses reported hearing a “boom” or “whooshing” sound. The jet yawed to the right, leaving the tail perpendicular to the runway, and burst through a fence. The plane broke into pieces and debris scattered across a neighboring dairy field.

The accident killed pilot Luis Polanco Espaillat, 50, of the Dominican Republic, flight attendant Warren T. Richardson, 36, of Coral Gables, Fla., and Ebersol’s son Edward “Teddy” Ebersol, 14.

All were ejected from the plane.

Ebersol, his other son Charles and the copilot, Eric Wicksell, survived the crash.
 

Shortly after the wreck, officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board scoured the wreckage, trying to determine the cause of the accident.

Initially, the investigation focused on ice forming on the plane’s wings.

Arnold Scott, the lead NTSB investigator from Denver, said the final crash report should be finished within the next two to three weeks. He would not comment on the report, but said ice was one of the factors the NTSB had investigated.

Plane crash expert Robert Breiling, owner of the Robert E. Breiling Associates, said the Challenger is a safe plane, having been involved in an accident 0.18 times per 100,000 flight hours. This compares to an average of 1.118 accidents per 100,000 hours for other planes.

The Challenger was also involved in an accident in Britain where ice on the wings was the suspected cause.

“Both are attributed to the pilots not de-icing (prior to takeoff),” Breiling said.

Montrose Regional Airport Administrator Scott Brownlee said he could not comment on de-icing concerns because of the investigation. He said the airport staff fully cooperated with the NTSB’s efforts.

“The folks that were there, they made statements,” Brownlee said.

Brownlee said the Montrose Regional Airport’s fixed-based operator gave the Ebersol plane the opportunity to de-ice but the pilot refused.

Brownlee said planes were de-iced before and after the crash.

Under FAA regulations, the pilot is in control of the plane and decides when a plane should de-ice, but the condition appeared to warrant de-icing. Federal Aviation rule 91.527 states, “... no pilot may fly an airplane into known or forecast severe icing conditions.”

De-icing involves the application of a warm antifreeze type solution onto the plane.

When ice forms, the frozen water changes the airflow over the wings, which prevents the plane from lifting off. Breiling said the Challenger’s high-end wing design makes them more susceptible to ice collecting and creating a hazard.

“The general consensus is the water froze,” Breiling said.

11_29_04-MONTROSE, CO-Dick Ebersol, the chairman of NBC Sports survived a charter jet crash that killed at least two people in Montrose on Sunday. Ebersol's two sons were also on board Charles, who also survived the crash and Teddy who is still missing and presumed dead. The charter jet had stopped in Montrose to refuel and was heading for South Bend, Indiana where Charles is a senior at Notre Dame. ABOVE: National Transportation Safety Board Senior Air Safety Investigator Arnold Scott (holding out arms) looks over the wreckage with other NTSB officials and local authorities. The jet was identified as a CL-601 Challenger registered to Jet Alliance of Millville, N.J. Ebersol, 57, became president of NBC sports in 1989. The division broadcasts the Olympics, NASCAR auto racing and smaller events such as the Wimbledon tennis tournament and professional golf. Ebersol also worked as an NBC entertainment executive. In the early 1980's he was executive producer of Saturday Night Live.

The plane was at the Montrose airport for about 50 minutes, more than enough time for water to form and freeze on the wings. Breiling said one reason the pilot may have chosen not to de-ice was cost.

“Did the pilot want to save the 2,000 to 3,000 bucks?” Brieling asked.

He said a lot of executives called his company after the Ebersol crash, wanting to know if the Challenger was a safe aircraft. He said the plane is one of the safest in the air and attributed the crash to pilot error. “They were concerned that something was wrong with the plane,” Brieling said.

He said Ebersol might have gone with a low-cost charter service, rather than using the normal NBC charter service, which could have contributed to the accident. He also said some charter services with “less than reputable character” are operating.

Air Castle Worldwide Executive Jet Charter was also listed in the accident report, but no information was available on the company and its connection to the accident.

Because of the possible negligence, lawsuits are expected. Acting Montrose County Attorney Bob Hill said he did not know of any lawsuits, but thought the parties might be waiting until the investigation is complete.

Brownlee said he was confident that the airport did everything possible to prevent the accident.

“In our opinion, everything was done that could have been done,” he said. “We think everything was done correctly.”

Contact James Shea via email at Jamess@montrosepress.com     from this link