A plane crash in the southeastern part of Kansas took the lives of four people who were in route to a Christian youth conference. The only survivor of the crash was a recent graduate of Oral Roberts University. The Cessna twin-engine 401 plane crashed on Friday about ten miles from Chanute. The plane landed in a field and slid about 200 feet before running into the tree line surrounding the field.
A National Transportation Safety Board spokesman said on Saturday that the pilot was in contact with area air traffic controllers, but did not make a distress call. The spokesman said an altitude change had been requested but nothing else. Following the crash, the plane caught fire.
Teen Mania Ministries, based in Texas, said the plane was manufactured 21 years ago and was on its way to the Acquire the Fire conference being held in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The plane had left from Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Oral Roberts University is located.
The four killed were Luke Sheets the pilot, from Emphraim, Wisconsin, Austin Anderson, Stephen Luth, from Muscatine, Iowa. All three had graduated from Oral Roberts University. Garrett Coble from Tulsa was also killed.
Anderson, who was from Ringwood, Oklahoma, survived the initial crash, but died early Saturday from his injuries. He had been in two tours of duty in Iraq with the U.S. Marines. Hannah Luce the daughter of Teen Mania founder and Oral Roberts trustee Ron Luce survived the crash and was in a Kansas City hospital. Her body had burns over 28% of its surface, but she was in stable condition.
