At the time , Marshall 's athletic teams rarely traveled by plane , since most away games were within easy driving distance of the campus . The team originally planned to cancel the flight , but changed plans and chartered the Southern Airways DC-9 . The accident is the deadliest tragedy affecting any sports team in U.S. history . It was the second college football team plane crash in a little over a month . Wichita State 's team plane crashed in Colorado just 43 days earlier killing 14 players and 31 people overall
team plane crashed
Wichita State University football team plane crash
Southern Airways Flight 932