I posted about the crash in the snow thread, but I think this deserves it's own thread. No word on if he is injured...

Dick Ebersol's jet crashes at Montrose Regional Airport
Dan Werner (Web producer)

Created: 11/28/2004 11:25 AM MST
Updated: 11/28/2004 3:56 PM MST

MONTROSE - NBC Sports Chairman and President Dick Ebersol was in a jet that crashed Sunday morning on takeoff, killing at least two people and seriously injuring two others near the Montrose Regional Airport, which serves the Telluride Ski Area. Ebersol survived the crash and his wife, Susan Saint James, was not on board.

Allen Kenitzer, regional Federal Aviation Administration spokesman, said the pilot, flight attendant and one passenger died when the plane burst into flames after crashing through a fence. Sheriff's officials only confirm two of the deaths. The jet reportedly was headed to South Bend, Ind.

Two other passengers suffered life-threatening injuries. The sixth person listed on the plane's manifest had not been found.

Kenitzer identified the plane as a CL-60 Challenger owned and operated by Global Aviation of Los Angeles, a charter service company. There was snow in the area but Kenitzer said he did not know if it was a factor.

Investigators from the FAA and National Safety Transportation Board were en route to the airport, 185 miles southwest of Denver.

Wow, that's crazy. :(

Ebersol was also the producer of Saturday Night Live for about five seasons in the '80s when Lorne Michaels had left the show.

MSNBC says he was seriously injured. Doesn't say how serious though.

Originally posted by theshark8777
MSNBC says he was seriously injured. Doesn't say how serious though.

*Gasp*

MSNBC actually cut out of their worthless documentaries on donkeys? :lol:

That's sad to hear. FOX just reported 3 people, all male, have been transferred to another hospital outside of Montrose meaning it's probably pretty serious. 2 dead and 1 missing.

I've heard more about the fact that Susan St. James was not on the plane than anything else. The media in this country sucks.

Originally posted by dawsongirl
I've heard more about the fact that Susan St. James was not on the plane than anything else. The media in this country sucks. I thought I heard one time that Dick and Susan St. James were getting a divorce. Also I heard something that their son was on the plane.

Drudge is reporting that Dick Ebersol's son Charlie was with him and survived as well.

This is sad all around. Death by fire is unimaginable. I don't have the greatest feeling about Ebersol. They're being too secretive about his condition.

I remember the night that Princess Diana died, there was that three or so hours where the world was waiting for a report on her condition. I remember telling my mother on the phone that I just know she's dead. Otherwise, the hospital would be releasing information on her condition...they're getting her sons and the rest of her family together. Around midnight, they announced her death.

I hope I'm wrong.

Originally posted by AKA
Ebersol was also the producer of Saturday Night Live for about five seasons in the '80s when Lorne Michaels had left the show.

I knew I heard his name somewhere before.

Hope all is well.

Originally posted by BravesFan2004
I thought I heard one time that Dick and Susan St. James were getting a divorce. Also I heard something that their son was on the plane.

Hmm. Maybe they decided against it. *shrugs*

Dick Ebersol

Originally posted by Janice
Drudge is reporting that Dick Ebersol's son Charlie was with him and survived as well.

Looks like his other son didn't make it, though. :(

Originally posted by AKA
Looks like his other son didn't make it, though. :(
Oh my God. I didn't know that. I didn't read the article thoroughly. That's just awful. Do you know if they are his sons with Susan or from a previous marriage?

this blows :( ....I hope he makes it!

Originally posted by Janice
Oh my God. I didn't know that. I didn't read the article thoroughly. That's just awful. Do you know if they are his sons with Susan or from a previous marriage? I'm not sure.

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20041129/D86LGT7O0.html

NBC Exec Dick Ebersol Survives Jet Crash

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) - NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol and his college-aged son emerged from the fiery wreckage of a corporate jet after it crashed during takeoff and burst into flames, killing two crew members. Rescuers were still searching for Ebersol's younger son, whose seat was missing from the smoldering ruins.

The 18-seat charter jet with six people on board crashed Sunday morning at Montrose Regional Airport in southwest Colorado, not far from the Telluride Ski Area. A heavy snowstorm had lightened up before the plane prepared to depart for South Bend, Ind., where Ebersol's son Charles is a senior at the University of Notre Dame.

A witness said the impact ripped the cockpit from the fuselage, and that Charles Ebersol helped his 57-year-old father to safety through the front of the plane.

A second son, 14-year-old Edward, was missing, Denver NBC affiliate KUSA-TV reported. The station said crews searched by helicopter and on the ground, but that even "Teddy" Ebersol's plane seat could not be found. A Montrose County Sheriff's spokeswoman said the boy had not been located by late Sunday.

The sheriff's office also said two people were killed in the crash, though their identities were not released. KUSA said the victims were the pilot and co-pilot. Hospital officials said three men were treated after the crash. Federal officials said the aircraft also had a flight attendant on board.

Ebersol's wife, actress Susan Saint James, was not on the plane, the station said. The family lives in Connecticut.

Eyewitness Chuck Distel told The Associated Press by phone that he was driving on a highway parallel to the runway when he saw the plane skid sideways through a fence and brush before hitting a roadway that ripped the cockpit from the fuselage, leaving it an unrecognizable wreck. The Denver Post reported that the jet lifted off briefly before crashing.

Distel said Charles helped his father through the front of the plane and that the pair were walking around outside the wreckage as Distel and an airport official arrived. He said Ebersol didn't say a word as the younger man cried and yelled "Oh my God! Oh my God!"

"I had to think for a second, 'who are these people?'" he said. "They weren't severely injured, they were in shock." Distel said Charles was able to climb into an ambulance, while the elder Ebersol was loaded onto a stretcher.

The airport official yelled into the wreckage for survivors, but heard none. The wreckage left a burning trail of jet fuel and burst into flames, forcing Distel and other rescuers to get away.

Linda McCool, a nursing supervisor at Montrose Memorial Hospital, said three men were taken to the hospital after the crash and later transferred to other hospitals. Dan Prinster, vice president of St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, said two people were moved there from Montrose Memorial and another patient was being flown to a burn unit in Denver. Neither McCool nor Prinster would release any other information on the survivors.

A weekend storm that covered most of the state dumped more than 3 feet of snow in the Montrose area and Distel said there was light snow and fog at the time of the crash. It was not known if weather was a factor and investigators from the FAA and National Safety Transportation Board were en route to the airport, 185 miles southwest of Denver.

The Montrose airport is one of several that serves Telluride, a popular ski destination for celebrities.

The plane was identified as a CL-602 Challenger, which could hold up to 19 passengers, registered to Jet Alliance of Millville, N.J. The company offered its condolences in a statement, but said it had no additional information.

Known as a television innovator, Ebersol has a long history at NBC.

He became the network's director of late-night programming in 1974 replaced Lorne Michaels for a rocky tenure as executive producer of "Saturday Night Live" in the early 1980s. Ebersol, of Litchfield, Conn., became president of NBC Sports in 1989 and recently signed a contract that keeps him at the network through 2012.

Ebersol is best-known for his love affair with the Olympics. A protege of Olympics-coverage pioneer Roone Arledge, he worked as an ABC researcher at the 1968 Grenoble Winter Games and carried on Arledge's philosophy of presenting the Olympics through storytelling, rather than emphasizing results.

"He is very innovative," Fox Sports chairman David Hill said Sunday. "He's obviously a great leader and, from my perspective, a very worthy competitor."

Can't find his son's seat?

:eek: :(

Yea, this happened like 5 minutes away from me. I was watching the news and 2 people died, three survived, and one was missing. I don't understand how someone could be missing though, because it was a tiny plane at a tiny airport in a tiny town. It wasn't even snow related. They said it crashed into a fence. And like Cathy said, it's sad how they keep reporting about how his wife was not on the plane...yet they didn't even say anything about the two people that died. They just mention them in like 2 seconds.

Originally posted by AKA
Looks like his other son didn't make it, though. :( I know, I was watching that this morning. :(

Originally posted by Czas na Zywiec
And like Cathy said, it's sad how they keep reporting about how his wife was not on the plane...yet they didn't even say anything about the two people that died. They just mention them in like 2 seconds. I was thinking that, too...she really wasn't even part of it other than the fact that she's related. *shrugs*

MSNBC just reported the son's body is believed to have been found. :( He was only 14.

Originally posted by Brent88
MSNBC just reported the son's body is believed to have been found. :( He was only 14.

Ugh..that is very sad. :(

Heres the Susan St James connection:


They flew to Colorado, where they have a home, to drop off Ebersol’s wife, actress Susan Saint James, who starred in the 1980s television series “Kate and Allie.” Then, Ebersol and the two sons were headed to drop off Charles at school in South Bend, Ind.

this is so sad my heart goes out to the ebersol family

If anyone's on the East Coast, Dick Ebersol's wife, Susan St. James is coming up on Countdown with Keith Olberman on MSNBC in a few minutes.

Originally posted by Janice
If anyone's on the East Coast, Dick Ebersol's wife, Susan St. James is coming up on Countdown with Keith Olberman on MSNBC in a few minutes. I saw that earlier tonight. Pretty heartbreaking.

Oh, it's actually going to be on in all time zones, since MSNBC only has one feed.

Originally posted by AKA
I saw that earlier tonight. Pretty heartbreaking.

Oh, it's actually going to be on in all time zons, since MSNBC only has one feed.
Thanks. You know that's math to me. Confused easily. :crazy: