Oklahoma State Crash: NTSB Says Weather Not a Factor

Bethany Whitfield

Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at 09:53 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

A plane crash in central Arkansas killed four people, including two Oklahoma State University women’s basketball coaches, the pilot (former state Senator Olin Branstetter), and his wife.
NTSB investigators have ruled out weather as a factor, with attention focused on the pilot's medical history and a probable loss of control, suggested by the plane's nose-dive.
Witnesses reported hearing sputtering before the plane crashed, and no distress calls were made.
In response to this incident, which follows a prior fatal crash involving OSU personnel a decade ago, Oklahoma State University is reviewing its travel policy.

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Weather was not a factor in the recent high-profile crash that killed two Oklahoma State University women’s basketball coaches last week, according to NTSB investigators.

Former Oklahoma state Senator Olin Branstetter was flying the Cherokee 180 carrying the coaches when it crashed nose-first into a wooded area in central Arkansas on Thursday. All four people on board were killed, including the 82-year-old pilot, his 79-year-old wife Paula, who was also a pilot, and OSU women’s basketball coach Kurt Budke and assistant coach Miranda Sernawere.