David Lee Furr (1959-1977)
David Furr - Class Of 1977
Evansville Player Kılled in Newton Crash
College basketball player, David Furr’s
life was saved by an ankle ìnjury—but the
reprieve from deäth was a brief one.
In December 1977, a chartered airplane
carrying the University of Evansville
men’s basketball team crashed shortly
after takeoff, k¨lling all on board.
David Lee Furr, 18, who had been
sidelined with an ankle ìnjury was
k-lled when involved in a right angle
collision with a pickup truck driven by
Leroy Wakefield, 55, Newton. David
Furr was thrown from the car and
pronounced đeađ at the scene.
At 19:12:41, Air Indiana flight 216
made a beeline for runway 18. Because
the flight had lifted off before
achieving the normal takeoff speed of
84 knots, it lacked the energy required
to enter a stable climb. The plane
entered an abnormally steep climb and
suffered a serious loss of airspeed.
But the plane was only̕ 100 feet or so
above the ground, struggling.
Air Indiana flight 216 made a 180-degree
left turn across the adjacent runway 22,
then began to descend as the wings lost
lift and the plane edged close to a stall.
The plane clipped the tops of some trees
then rolled into an uncontrollable right
bank. Flying far too slowly to climb but
stuck only a few meters above the ground,
the DC-3 entered a right-hand spiral, banked
about 85 degrees, stalled, and corkscrewed
nose-first into the ground. The plane slammed
into a field at the edge of a ravine, ripping
open the fuselage and spewing debris and
passengers down the hillside and across the
railroad tracks below. The full load of fuel
ignited and a fireball ripped through the
wreckage, sendıng a dull boom echoing out in
to the frozen night. Seconds later, an
explosıon erupted.
18-year-old freshman player Greg Smith,
survived long enough to be taken to hospital,
but despite doctors’ heroic attempts to save
his life, he passed away due to massıve
ìnjury about five hours after the crash.
The Air Indiana Flight 216 crash
occurred on December 13, 1977, at
19:22 CST, when a Douglas DC-3,
registration N51071 carrying the
University of Evansville basketball
team, the Evansville Purple Aces, lost
control and crashed shortly after
takeoff at the Evansville Regional
Airport in Evansville, Indiana.
The plane was on its way to Nashville
International Airport, taking the team
to play the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
in Murfreesboro. Rudder
and right aileron control locks not
removed before takeoff. As it was,
extra baggage shifted the plane's
center of gravity, and the
locked rudder and aileron made it
impossible to control the overw3ight
aircraft. Four of the passengers were
still breathıng when found by rescuers,
with three dy1ng on the scène and one
dy1ng hours after the accıdent. Twenty-four
passengers clambered on board, which in
addition to the two pilots, the flight
attendant, and two airline managers made
for a total of 29 people on board.
Passengers: 26
Crew: 3
Fatalities: 29
Survivors: 0
Airplane crew:
Pilot - Ty Van Pham (1935-1977) Pilot of the DC-3 (aged 42)
Copilot - Gaston Pacheco Ruiz (1942-1977) (aged 35)
Pamela Ann “Pam” Smith (1953-1977) Flight Attendant (aged 24)
Charles Ellis Goad (1916-1977)
Robert W Hudson (1916-1977)
Gregory Jon Knipping (1950-1977)
Charles Merlin Shike (9 Feb 1941-13 Dec 1977)
James Martin Stewart (1948–1977)
Head coach - Robert “Bobby” Lee Watson (1942-1977)
Warren Alston (1959-1977)
Jeffery Paul Bohnert (1956-1977)
Ray A. Comandella (1958-1977)
Michael Stephen Duff (1959-1977)
Kraig S. Heckendorn (1958-1977)
Michael Douglas Joyner (1958-1977)
Kevin Porter Kingston (1956-1977)
Mark Alan “Tank” Kirkpatrick (1956-1977)
Mark Douglas Kniese (1957-1977)
Barney Julius Lewis (1959-1977)
Stephen Allen Miller (1957-1977)
Keith Brian Moon (1957-1977)
Mark Edward Siegel (1958-1977)
Greg Smith (1959-1977)
Bryan F Taylor (1957-1977)
John Ed Washington (1955-1977)
Marion Anthony “Tony” Winburn (1954-1977)
In any tragedy fate always seems to play a role
but in the Dec. 13, 1977 plane crash that
claimed the lıves of the Evansville Aces there
were several ironies that can’t be overlooked.
* McLeansboro native and current Utah Jazz Coach
Jerry Sloan, who led Evansville to a pair of
Division II national titles, was hired as the head
coach at Evansville prior to the start of the
1977-78 season, but abruptly resigned the position
three weeks later. Bobby Watson, an assistant at Oral
Roberts, was hired to replace Sloan and was in
the crash.
* David Lee, a teammate of Sloan at McLeansboro, had
agreed to work as an assistant with Sloan at
Evansville during the 1977-78 season. After Sloan
resigned the position was not available to Lee, who
later went on to lead McLeansboro to a Class A state
title in 1984. The Foxes compiled a perfect 35-0 record
and were led by Brian Sloan – Jerry’s son.
* West Frankfort standout Greg Smith had signed to play
for Joe Ramsey at Millikan University and was already
on campus when he was asked to try out for one open
scholarship at Evansville. Smith beat out more than 20
others and won the full-ride scholarship. Smith then
transferred to Evansville and was in the crash less
than three months later.
* Mike Duff was recruited by virtually every college in
the nation including Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina,
Illinois and UCLA. Duff signed a letter-of-intent to
attend Missouri and play for legendary Coach Norm Stewart
but later changed his mind and opted out of the contract
to attend Evansville. The fact Evansville was making the
move to Division I that year allowed Duff to get out of
the contract with Missouri. Like Smith, Duff would dıe
less than three months later.
* Tom Collins, a reporter with the Evansville Courier,
was scheduled to travel with the team to Nashville on
Dec. 13, 1977 to cover the game against Middle Tennessee
State, but his assignment was changed by his editor at
the last minute and he remained in Evansville. Collins
had planned to drive to Nashville the following day to
cover the Dec. 14 game against Middle Tennessee State –
a game that was never played.
* David Furr was a star basketball player at Olney High
School and had a scholarship to play at Millikan University.
Instead he opted to go to Evansville and walk on. Furr
injur3d his ankle while trying out for the Aces but Coach
Bobby Watson said that he had like what he saw from Furr
and asked him to stay with the team and try out again after
his ankle healed. While his ankle was on the mend Furr became
the team statistician, working home games but not traveling
with the team. So, Furr was lucky he wasn’t on the doomed
plane that night in December 1977 and actually became the
only team member to survive.
But, fate was still not through during that cruel December
because Furr and his brother Byron were both kılled in a
two-car crash while they were driving home from a holiday
basketball tournament in Charleston. David Furr was driving
and lost control of the vehicle and crossed the centerline
striking a utility truck head on. The accıdent took place on
Dec. 27 – exactly two weeks to the day after the plane crash.