Plane Crash

The Kansas Highway Patrol is on the scene of a crash landing in Reno County. Officials on the scene tell Eyewitness News the plane went down in a field in the 3600 block of Mohawk in Reno County. A single pilot was on board at the time.  Authorities tell us he was landing on a private airstrip when he lost control and veered to the left and went into the field.  His nosegear collapsed and the prop of the small plane went into the ground, causing the plane to flip over onto its back.

Everyone knows the story. But once a year, families and friends of the WSU football players and staff killed in 1970 visit the campus to hear it again. "When this happened the school said they would never forget and they haven't," says Connie Avery. Saturday morning's memorial is one way the university honors the anniversary of the thirty-one people who died in a plane crash, on the way to a football game, forty years ago. Scott Reeves Coons was four when he lost his father, a trainer for the team.

A vigil is being held Sunday night for a Junction City family killed in a plane crash earlier this month in central Florida. Ron and Becky Bramlage and their four children were on their way home to Junction City from their vacation in the Bahamas when their plane crashed. Their funeral is set for 10am on Monday at the Junction City Middle School. Sunday night a vigil is being held at the St. Xavier Catholic Church. That got underway at 7pm. The crash is still under investigation.

One person is injured in a plane crash in Butler County. The accident happened just after 11:00am Saturday morning just north of the Benton airport at 2759 S.W. Prairie Creek Road. Officials say 55-year-old Michael Frazier of Benton, was flying into the Benton Airport when his plane had some sort of engine problems. It attempted to land in a nearby field when it did cart-wheeled into the garage of a nearby home. Frazier was taken to a Wichita hospital in stable condition.

One man is dead, another in critical condition in a Wichita hospital after a single-engine plane crashes in northern Oklahoma. Sydney Bland of teh Arkansas City Traveler reports the the crash happened at the Ponca City airport at 12:47pm on Saturday. When Ponca City Police officers arrived on the scene, the found a single engine Piper Cherokee 140 had crashed into a fence on the west side of Mertz Manufacturing plant at Ponca City Regional Airport. Investigators said the plane was caught by a gust of wind, causing it to flip upside-down next to the building.

A small airplane crashes in a field near Topeka, killing four people. Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Herrig says Richard and Amy Spencer and their two children, 7-year-old Chase and 5-year-old Ansley are the victims. The Federal Aviation Administration said the six-seat Beechcraft was headed to Phillip Billard Airport from Scott City when it may have had engine trouble. The plan went down Friday morning about three miles northeast of the capital city. Eyewitness News contacted several residents in Scott City Friday evening.  Superintendent Don Wells spoke with us via phone.

More than 2,000 people came to pay their respects to a Kansas family killed in a place crash.  Ron and Becky Bramlage and their four children died June 7th.  Their plane crashed in Florida on their way home from the Bahamas. Outside of the funeral in Junciton City, those who knew the family remembered them for their kindness and contributions to their community.  Becky served on the Geary County School Board.  The family also had strong ties to K-State University.  Ron's grandfather was the donor who helped build the Bramlage Coliseum.

The pilot of a crop duster than went down in Finney County Friday is in serious condition. The crash happened around 9:20 Friday morning on Big Lowe Road, about three miles south of the Finney, Scott County line. The Kansas Highway Patrol says the small plane had mechanical issues and lost power after it took off. The plane crashed into a field. The pilot was taken to a Garden City hospital in critical condition and then was transferred to a Wichita hospital. The pilot was the only person on board.

In the early 1940's, a U.S. military bomber was traveling from California to Topeka when it lost its way in an overnight storm. The pilot flew into a hill near Osborne, killing 11 servicemen. Now almost 70 years later the memorial constructed in the mens' honor has been destroyed. "The monument looked like someone had just backed into it," Laure McClure of the Osborne Carnagie Research Library said. The monument was constructed in the early 2000's when historian Von Rothenberger learned about the crash.

 “It's rough.  Especially on my wife, Ryan's mom. We were really close,” said stepfather Sandy Rogers. 30 year old flight instructor Ryan Brungardt called his parents on a weekly basis, often looking to his step father Sandy Rogers to talk aviation. He had a life-long passion for flying.  “I took him for a plane ride in a little Cessna 150.  He was 3 years old.  I buckled him in.  From that point on he was hooked,” said Rogers.     Brungardt was a K-State alum and grew up in Mount Hope, Kansas, but he moved to Colorado to help break into the business.

In the early 1940's, a U.S. military bomber was traveling from California to Topeka when it lost its way in an overnight storm. The pilot flew into a hill near Osborne, killing 11 servicemen. Now almost 70 years later the memorial constructed in the mens' honor has been destroyed. "The monument looked like someone had just backed into it," Laure McClure of the Osborne Carnagie Research Library said. The monument was constructed in the early 2000's when historian Von Rothenberger learned about the crash.

Tuesday was a somber day on the campus of Wichita State University. It was 42 years ago that a plane crash in Colorado killed 31 members of the Shocker football program. Each year on October 2nd, current students and faculty gather with surviving team members to honor those who were lost. Ray Burford, says after all these years, the day still brings a mix of emotions, "It brings on the subtle things that are always with us...the memories the fun the laughter the hardship the heartbreak that were involved in it so it's just a good time to remember and make acquaintances and renew old friendships".

The pilot of a crop duster than went down in Finney County Friday is in serious condition. The crash happened around 9:20 Friday morning on Big Lowe Road, about three miles south of the Finney, Scott County line. The Kansas Highway Patrol says the small plane had mechanical issues and lost power after it took off. The plane crashed into a field. The pilot was taken to a Garden City hospital in critical condition and then was transferred to a Wichita hospital. The pilot was the only person on board.

The Kansas Highway Patrol is on the scene of a crash landing in Reno County. Officials on the scene tell Eyewitness News the plane went down in a field in the 3600 block of Mohawk in Reno County. A single pilot was on board at the time.  Authorities tell us he was landing on a private airstrip when he lost control and veered to the left and went into the field.  His nosegear collapsed and the prop of the small plane went into the ground, causing the plane to flip over onto its back.

Just before noon Saturday a plane crashes at the Augusta Municipal Airport. Investigators say a mother and son were landing the plane when it had brake problems. Their plane rolled off the runway, went into a ditch and crashed into a culvert. Check out photos of the crash The pilot had minor injuries, and the passenger was fine. There is no word on if the two knew they had issues before they landed.

More than 2,000 people came to pay their respects to a Kansas family killed in a place crash.  Ron and Becky Bramlage and their four children died June 7th.  Their plane crashed in Florida on their way home from the Bahamas. Outside of the funeral in Junciton City, those who knew the family remembered them for their kindness and contributions to their community.  Becky served on the Geary County School Board.  The family also had strong ties to K-State University.  Ron's grandfather was the donor who helped build the Bramlage Coliseum.

A vigil is being held Sunday night for a Junction City family killed in a plane crash earlier this month in central Florida. Ron and Becky Bramlage and their four children were on their way home to Junction City from their vacation in the Bahamas when their plane crashed. Their funeral is set for 10am on Monday at the Junction City Middle School. Sunday night a vigil is being held at the St. Xavier Catholic Church. That got underway at 7pm. The crash is still under investigation.

All members of the Bramlage family have been found after their plane crashed in Florida Thursday.  According to WTSP, the CBS affiliate in Tampa, the body of 13-year-old Boston Bramlage was found in a heavily wooded area Friday afternoon. Click here for photos of the crash site The Polk County Sheriff says his body was found about four-tenths of a mile from the wreckage.  The sheriff went on to say it appeared the boy wasn't strapped in and was thrown from the plane after a wing snapped.  "This is a tragedy of monumental proportion, and it breaks our hearts," said Sheriff Judd.

 “It's rough.  Especially on my wife, Ryan's mom. We were really close,” said stepfather Sandy Rogers. 30 year old flight instructor Ryan Brungardt called his parents on a weekly basis, often looking to his step father Sandy Rogers to talk aviation. He had a life-long passion for flying.  “I took him for a plane ride in a little Cessna 150.  He was 3 years old.  I buckled him in.  From that point on he was hooked,” said Rogers.     Brungardt was a K-State alum and grew up in Mount Hope, Kansas, but he moved to Colorado to help break into the business.

Wichita State commemorated one of the worst tragedies in college sports history during halftime at Saturday night's basketball game. It's been 41-years since the plane carrying the WSU football team crashed in Colorado. It happened October 2, 1970 and killed 31 people on board. The survivors of the plane crash flew to Logan Utah, home of Utah State. "Utah State and Wichita State share a unique bond," says Eric Sexton, WSU Athletic Director.  "And while we continue to remember those whose lives were changed that tragic day in the Wichita State family, we also want to remember the compassion that our friends at Utah State showed.  We also remember that their lives were changed too, when receiving those who arrived safely.  We look forward to continuing the friendship that has been rekindled through the basketball game two years ago and the one today.