14-Year Old And His Seat Were Missing After Montrose Mishap

Search teams late Monday said they had located the body of a young man thought to be Edward "Teddie" Ebersol, the 14-year old Edward Ebersol, son of NBC's sports chief, after their Canadair Challenger CL-600 (file photo of type, below) crashed on take-off from Montrose, CO, Sunday. The boy and his seat were missing from the aircraft wreckage.

NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol, Edward and 21-year old Charlie Ebersol were among the five people on board when witnesses say the bizjet lifted briefly off the runway, then crashed, exploded and burned.

"It was huge, it really was. I didn't know how far the flames would erupt, they went mostly up and out but they went basically up in the air and it was a large, large fireball," witness Gary Ellis told KMGH-TV. "In my mind, and just from what I observed and the magnitude of the fireball, I'm terribly surprised anybody could have survived."

Ebersol's wife, actress Susan St. James, had departed the aircraft in Montrose as the sports chief and his sons continued toward South Bend, IN, where Charlie attends Notre Dame University.

Two members of the flight crew, the pilot and a cabin attendant, were also killed in the accident. They've been identified as  Luis Alberto Polanco Espaillat, 50, of the Dominican Republic and Warren T. Richardson III, 36, of Coral Gables, FL. There was no indication from officials on the ground which was the flight attendant and which was the pilot.

There's no immediate word on the condition of both Ebersol and his older son. Ms. St. James was at her husband's side and asked for privacy.

FAA Preliminary Accident Report

IDENTIFICATION
 Regis#: 873G    Make/Model: CL60   Description: CL-600/601/604 Challenger (CC-144, CE-14
 Date: 11/28/2004   Time: 1720

 Event Type: Accident  Highest Injury: Fatal   Mid Air: N  Missing: N
 Damage: Destroyed

LOCATION
 City: MONTROSE          State: CO  Country: US

DESCRIPTION
 N873G, GLOBAL AVIATION GLB73, A CL60 ACFT, CRASHED SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF,
 THERE WERE SIX PEOPLE ON BOARD, TWO WERE FATALLY INJURED, THREE WERE
 SERIOUSLY INJURED AND ONE IS MISSING, THE ACFT WAS DESTROYED, MONTROSE, CO

INJURY DATA   Total Fatal:  2
         # Crew:  2  Fat:  2   Ser:  0   Min:  0   Unk: 
         # Pass:  4   Fat:  0   Ser:  3   Min:  0   Unk:  Y
         # Grnd:       Fat:  0   Ser:  0   Min:  0   Unk: 

WEATHER: KMTJ 281711Z AUTO 35006KT 1SM-SN OVC011 M02/M02 A2967            
                                          
OTHER DATA
 Activity: Unknown   Phase: Take-off   Operation: Air Taxi (On Demand)

 Departed: MONTROSE, CO        Dep Date: 11/28/2004  Dep. Time:  
 Destination: SOUTH BEND, IN      Flt Plan: IFR     Wx Briefing: U
 Last Radio Cont: ON DEPARTURE
 Last Clearance: CLRD FOR DEPARTURE

 FAA FSDO: SALT LAKE CITY, UT (NM07)      Entry date: 11/29/2004

FMI: www.ntsb.gov