Investigator Seeks Cause for Iowa St. Plane Crash

An investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board speculated that engine failure caused the crash of an Iowa State University plane Monday night, killing all seven passengers, including the coach and assistant coach of the women’s track team, three members of the women’s cross-country team and a student trainer.

“There’s no definite evidence of an engine problem,” Eugene Roth said in Des Moines, “but in my opinion, that’s more likely a cause than bad weather is. There had to be something that set this plane apart from the other two, which landed safely.”

The three Aero Commanders, all owned by the university, were returning coaches and athletes from the NCAA cross-country championships at Milwaukee, where the Iowa State women’s team had finished second.

The planes were diverted from the Ames airport because of freezing rain and poor visibility. The first two landed at Des Moines amid similar conditions. The pilot of the third, according to airport officials, was three miles from the runway when he reported severe vibrations and said he was climbing to 3,000 feet.

The plane ultimately burst into fire and crashed in a residential neighborhood, narrowly missing several homes before slamming into a tree.

“Most folks here are numb. You don’t know what to do or say,” assistant track coach Ron McEachran said. “It’s a terrible loss for the university and the families.”

Among those killed in the crash was assistant women’s track and cross-country coach Pat Moynihan, a national-class hammer thrower from Princeton who, as coach of Iowa State’s hurdlers and heptathletes, helped guide Nawal El Moutawakel of Morocco to a gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles at the Los Angeles Olympic Games.