Payne Stewart

[cash]

This guy deserves his own thread. Stewart was a pretty good golfer - he won the US Open in 1991 and 1999. He had career earnings over $12M at the time of his death. His death is one of the strangest in the history of American civil aviation.
On Oct 25/99, Payne was an occupant on a Learjet that left Orlando at 9:19am. Three associates of Payne accompanied him along with the two pilots. Last contact with the pilot was at 9:27am - the pilot did not indicate any problem onboard. At 9:33am, all contact was lost with the plane and all hell broke loose. The plane was on autopilot and continued on a northwest trajectory ( also continued to ascend - reaching a height of 48,900 ft). A number of Air Force planes were vectored to make contact with the jet, getting close enough to see condensation on the cockpit windows. At 12:10pm, one of the Air Force pilots saw the jet enter into a severe downward spiral. The jet crashed near Aberdeen, South Dakota.
The damage was so extensive that NTSB could not determine what caused the loss of cabin pressure. It could not determine if there was an adequate supply of oxygen onboard and could not determine if anyone onboard had received supplemental oxygen.
Cause of crash: incapacitation of flight crew as a result of their failure to receive supplemental oxygen. This led to hypoxia and incapacitation.

http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2000/aab0001.htm

gravesite:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=18550


note: one of the pilots was a woman, 27, named Stephanie Bellegarrigue.
She had last contact with air traffic control. here is a picture of her:

http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamGolfPayneStewart/stewart_55.html

death could have taken only 8 seconds.

[Ron Burgundy]

Yes Cash....that whole ordeal was very hard to stomach. Exceedlingly bizarre situation.

Very tragic.

[Kathyf]

How terrible and scary that must have been for them.

[RoRo]

this was so scary..i think they were lucky in a way since they were all knocked out at the time and didn't know what was going on.

[Cataroo]

I remember this story completely and then being totally flabbergasted about how it happened. How bizarre ... how bizarre!!!

[Kugmu]

I remember seeing this on TV when it happened and had to look it upâ?¦
In 1987 P.S. won something called the Hertz Bay Hill Classic.
His only two wins before this were in â??82 and â??83 so it had been a while.
While being interviewed on the green after the win, He announced that he would donate his first place prize money of over $100K to the Florida Hospital Cancer Center in memory of his father who had died of cancer in â??85.
A magnificent gesture.
Thank you for that, Payne.

[Jazbabee]

Who could forget this bizrre story ? Moreover, it's hard to believe that they did not crash into an area with a higher population and cause injury/death on the ground.

[cash]

I remember seeing this on TV when it happened and had to look it upâ?¦
In 1987 P.S. won something called the Hertz Bay Hill Classic.
His only two wins before this were in â??82 and â??83 so it had been a while.
While being interviewed on the green after the win, He announced that he would donate his first place prize money of over $100K to the Florida Hospital Cancer Center in memory of his father who had died of cancer in â??85.
A magnificent gesture.
Thank you for that, Payne.

Payne was a nice guy, apparently. Born again Christian, done alot of charity work. He deserved a better fate.

[lisalouver]

What a story that was!

I remember hearing that he windows of the plane were totally frosted over.

Did'nt the plane fly and fly on automatic until it ran out of fuel and then crash?

[TNpuck]

Yeah, it flew something like 1500 miles before it ran out of gas and crashed. I remember watching the news that day, they had fighter jets or something scramble to see what was wrong. Very weird.

[FloridaDeathHag]

I work near where his agents used to, some of whom were on the plane. I'd see him every so often, he was a nice guy.

I got really turned off, though. His family brought this gigantic lawsuit against the plane manufacturer. My thoughts are, come on, don't you have enough money. A jury of I think almost all women, ruled for the manufacturer and the family got nothing.

[Ghoulie Girl]

wow-that is a strange story

[Giada]

This is one I remember as unique. A Lear Jet carrying known golfer Payne Stewart, lost cabin pressure at 30,000 feet. The passengers were rendered unconscious within 1-2 minutes, and the plane continued in flight until the fuel supply was exhausted.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv...99/crash26.htm

[Lout_Rampage]

Yeah, this one makes me feel icky.

[Lita]

I remember watching the news coverage of that. I remember because one of the anchors couldn't concentrate on what he was saying because the producer kept talking into his ear piece so he took it out.

[hell0kitty]

seems like it could have been a peaceful death, one minute you're ok then you lose all thot process.. i guess, but not to have to endure the crash...i remember watching payne stewart in his costumes...

[gemini33]

I remember this also. I remember listening to ESPNRadio and they were doing a play-by-play before the plane crashed. it was eerie to say the least.

[Chevyheaven]

What a way to go. I am really shocked and saddened about the loss of Payne webber. I cant believe hes gone. I just dont understand why God takes such good people so young. RIP MAN!

[gemini33]

What a way to go. I am really shocked and saddened about the loss of Payne webber. I cant believe hes gone. I just dont understand why God takes such good people so young. RIP MAN!

Uh, you mean Payne Stewart not Webber. It's okay. I totally know what you mean. Payne was a good guy. He had turned his life around a couple years before he died. I just remember his pants!!

[Miho]

Were they able to retrieve any bodies?

[lulubaines]

The thought of all those sleeping/unconscious people in that plane....flying to their death...their cell phones ringing....creepy and sad....perfect hag stuff.

[duster]

I remember thinking at the time that if you have to die in a plane crash, that's probably the best way to go. Wouldn't they have just gone to sleep?

[gemini33]

My question is they couldn't have all fallen asleep at the same time. Didn't someone on the plane notice something was wrong?

[kmed1971]

Is it possible that some of them woke up before the crash? I guess it would have been heard on the recordings.

[Giada]

I looked for more info and haven't found it as yet. It's my thought depressurization must have happened rapidly because the auto-pilot was on. I would think if the pressure dropped slowly the pilot would have called ATC and stated he was in an emergency.

[Luanne]

The thought of all those sleeping/unconscious people in that plane....flying to their death...their cell phones ringing....creepy and sad....perfect hag stuff.

Totally.

I remember this too. I couldn't stop looking for updates on where in its journey the plane was. I think there was a military jet flying with it. I remember them saying there was no activity in the cockpit and the windows were frosted from the inside(?). Watching that plane go down must've been something else.

I agree, though: perfect way to go if you're going to crash. Totally unconscious.

[cash]

I looked for more info and haven't found it as yet. It's my thought depressurization must have happened rapidly because the auto-pilot was on. I would think if the pressure dropped slowly the pilot would have called ATC and stated he was in an emergency.

there is a previous post here under Payne Stewart with more info. I don't know how to merge:

http://www.findadeath.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1910&highlight=payne+stewart

[NOVSTORM]

That was so eerie the way that happened. I remember other plane trying to get to his plane.. what a way to die.

[Jack-O-Lantern]

Reminds me of the Stephen King story, "The Langoliers."

[Giada]

Thanks for posting the information Cash.

[Mintgiver]

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION
Tissue specimens from the first officer tested negative for a wide range of drugs, including major drugs of abuse.23 The FAA's Final Forensic Toxicology Fatal Accident Report indicated that 41 mg/dL of ethanol and 1 mg/dL of acetaldehyde were detected in muscle. The report noted that the "ethanol found in this case may potentially be from postmortem ethanol formation and not from the ingestion of ethanol."
No toxicology testing was completed for the captain because of the difficulty of identifying and isolating tissue samples.

From the FAA report. That is pretty bad.

[Giada]

Time of Useful Consciousness ... Hypoxia


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_of..._Consciousness

[Nelliebean]

I keep imagining this plane flying without any life on board for hours.

Wow...................

[trose]

I remember thinking at the time that if you have to die in a plane crash, that's probably the best way to go. Wouldn't they have just gone to sleep?

I think that'd be my preference too - let me sleep through it!

[Seagorath]

Anybody with a link to the recordings?...I remember some eerie recordings floating about back in the day. I'll never forget watching this on the news at an airport bar in Charlotte...it was quite shocking in the golf world.

[lisalouver]

Merge!

[Luanne]

Time of Useful Consciousness ... Hypoxia


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_of..._Consciousness

So if they were at 30,000 feet, they all had about 30 seconds to 1 minute of useful consciousness. I wonder what happens after that. Do you realize that you can't function or make proper decisions? Do you know you're f***ed? I guess even if you do, you won't know it for too long before you pass out.

[Finnegan]

there is a previous post here under Payne Stewart with more info. I don't know how to merge:

http://www.findadeath.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1910&highlight=payne+stewart

l put it in the 'merge please' thread.

[theotherlondon]

Like some of the others I remember watching this on CNN
when they first said the plane is missing but would hope
for the best. But after awhile you kind of new something
was wrong.

[RaRaRamona]

This is one I remember as unique. A Lear Jet carrying known golfer Payne Stewart, lost cabin pressure at 30,000 feet. The passengers were rendered unconscious within 1-2 minutes, and the plane continued in flight until the fuel supply was exhausted.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv...99/crash26.htm

Learjet pilots are required to wear oxygen masks around their necks.

I wonder why.

[TheNotherOne]

I keep imagining this plane flying without any life on board for hours.

Wow...................

And how about the Air Force knowing that they were helpless to do anything but let the plane keep flying until it ran out of fuel and went down...and no doubt hoping and praying that it didn't kill anybody on the ground when it finally went down. Double Wow.

[RobinTMP]

And how about the Air Force knowing that they were helpless to do anything but let the plane keep flying until it ran out of fuel and went down...and no doubt hoping and praying that it didn't kill anybody on the ground when it finally went down. Double Wow.

I believe the Air Force was prepared to shoot the plane down if need be to keep it from crashing in a more populated area, which was one of the reasons the fighter jets were scrambled.

[Miho]

I believe the Air Force was prepared to shoot the plane down if need be to keep it from crashing in a more populated area, which was one of the reasons the fighter jets were scrambled.

Weird question, but would they have found more body parts if they shot it down rather than having it crash into the ground at hundreds of miles per hour

[Valerie]

Sad business.

Hag in me wonders if crash scene photos will ever surface. Anything even remotely human looking would probably put Mamonas pics to shame.

[Miho]

Sad business.

Hag in me wonders if crash scene photos will ever surface. Anything even remotely human looking would probably put Mamonas pics to shame.

[Mintgiver]

No wonder they couldn't identify any tissue. Yikes.

[MaxyMillions]

Such an eerie story. But other than a massive heart attack in my sleep, it doesn't sound like a bad way to go, if you've gotta go....

[Giada]

I wonder if there were any photos of the aircraft when it was in flight. Eerie ... the windows were iced, there may have been a faint outline of pilot or passengers.

[Forever-27]

Ghost Riders in the Sky.



As ,much as I think watching grass grow is more entertaining then golf, I couldnt help but watch this unfold. This is far and away one of the strangest ways ive ever heard of anyone dying.

[ichabodius]

Reminds me of the Stephen King story, "The Langoliers."

Except there are no giant pacmans eating up the reality of a few minutes ago.
"The time is out of joint; O cursed spite!/That ever I was born to set it right!"