Columnist Ron Kantowski: Flights must save lives, not money

Thursday, Feb. 1, 2001 | 10:49 a.m.

Ron Kantowski's column appears Thursday. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or 259-4088.

While it's often difficult to say the right things in the aftermath of a tragedy, such as the plane crash that killed two Oklahoma State basketball players and eight other members of the Cowboy basketball family in Colorado last weekend, a disturbing theme has begun to smolder amid the wreckage.

Reading between the lines of the quotes and sound bites that are emanating from Stillwater, Okla., and beyond, it would appear that some schools may be tempting fate more than necessary when it comes to air travel for their athletic teams, simply because it's either more economical or convenient to charter smaller aircraft than booking commercial flights.

On Tuesday, in his first public appearance since the disaster that claimed the lives of OSU reserves Nate Fleming and Dan Lawson, a grim Eddie Sutton defended using small planes for team travel, saying they are safe and that the pilots who fly the team are first rate.

Not being privy to FAA files or other statistics that compare the safety record of small planes to the big jets, I'll take him at his word. But as Sutton continued, he said something that should have raised eyebrows to alarming altitudes.

Throughout his 11 years as coach, Oklahoma State has used planes provided by alumni and friends of the program. These free and frequent flier miles, according to Sutton, save the OSU athletic program hundreds of thousands of dollars, that in turn are used to support the school's non-revenue sports.

Somehow, I don't think the loved ones of Nate Fleming, Dan Lawson and the others will take solace in the fact that because the basketball program was willing to seek a cheaper way to fly, the OSU volleyball team can lodge at Holiday Inn instead of Motel 6.

Then there was an admission from Auburn coach Cliff Ellis, who said his team uses the King Air, the same aircraft in which the OSU players perished, because it's more "convenient."

"When we charter jets we have to go to Columbus (Miss.) and Montgomery (Ala.)," Ellis was quoted in a published report. "With class schedules, we can take King Airs and get out (of) and back to Auburn (faster)."

Tubby Smith said he puts his players' lives in the hands of God every time his Kentucky Wildcats load their gear into an overhead compartment. But those who choose to put their trust in a lower deity -- such as athletic administrators -- say the prospect of missing a few classes should not figure into the travel equation.

"Somebody was saying you can come and go in these smaller places (by using small airplanes) and you don't miss class," Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson bristled. "Well, I know some (OSU) kids who will never have to go to class again."

A shaken Sutton was trying to put the tragedy into perspective when he said if there's one thing the surviving Cowboys should take from it, it's that "they better live every day like it might be the last."

But if that really were the case, he should call off practice and lift curfew today.

Instead of espousing philosophical rhetoric, Sutton should honor the memory of those who were killed by insisting that all future flights on these Buddy Holly planes be canceled. If saving on airfare is truly that important, then OSU should look for some decent fares on the Internet.

Just to be on the safe (as humanly possible) side.