Sports

Okla. St. Women’s Basketball Coaches Die in Plane Crash During Recruiting Trip

Oklahoma State Womens Basketball Coaches Kurt Budke Miranda Serna Die in Plane Crash During Recruiting Trip

Oklahoma State University women's basketball coaches Kurt Budke and Miranda Serna died in a plane crash Thursday while on a recruiting trip. (Image source: The Oklahoman)

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — The Oklahoma State University women’s basketball coach and his assistant coach were killed when the single-engine plane they were in during a recruiting trip crashed in steep terrain in Arkansas, the university confirmed Friday morning.

The university said Kurt Budke and Miranda Serna died in the crash Thursday afternoon in the Winona Wildlife Management Area near Perryville, about 45 miles west of Little Rock. The pilot, former Oklahoma state Sen. Olin Branstetter, and his wife Paula also died in the crash, university president Burns Hargis said at a news conference.

There were no survivors.

“This is our worst nightmare. The entire OSU family is very close, very close indeed. To lose anyone, especially these two individuals who are incredible life forces in our family, it is worse beyond words,” Hargis said.

The crash is the second major tragedy for the sports program in about a decade. In January 2001, 10 men affiliated with the university‘s men’s basketball team died in a Colorado plane crash, prompting the university to require that planes used by the school’s sports team undergo safety checks before travel. It wasn’t immediately clear if the same policy applied to travel by coaches or administrators.

“When something like this happens and, God forbid it happened again, we have to pull together as a family, we have to try to do that,” Hargis said, as he broke down in tears.

Oklahoma State canceled its women’s college basketball home games set for Saturday and Sunday. The school’s second-ranked college football team plays Friday night at Iowa State.

Hargis credited Budke, 50, with elevating the team in a tough program. Serna, he said, set a good example for the players.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of Kurt Budke, Miranda Serna and the other victims. Kurt was an exemplary leader and a man of character who had a profound impact on his student-athletes,” Hargis said. “Miranda was an up-and-coming coach and an outstanding role model for our young ladies.”

Oklahoma State Womens Basketball Coaches Kurt Budke Miranda Serna Die in Plane Crash During Recruiting Trip

“I don’t know a lot about what happened or about how it happened, but I know they are gone. They are here in our hearts,” he told reporters.

OSU Director of Communications Gary Schutt said counselors are available on campus for members of the team, faculty and anyone who needs help, and that a memorial was being planned for Monday.

OSU hired Budke from Louisiana Tech seven years ago and the coach compiled a 112-83 record at the school. This year’s team was 1-0 after defeating Rice on Sunday.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending investigators, and that it could take nine months to determine the cause of the crash.

FAA records showed that the plane was built in 1964 and registered to Branstetter.

The plane that crashed in 2001, a Beechcraft King Air 200, had been donated by a school booster.

On Jan. 27, 2001, one of three planes carrying players and others connected to the OSU men’s basketball team crashed in a field 40 miles east of Denver as the Cowboys returned from a game at Colorado. The crash occurred about 35 minutes after the plane took off in light snow.

An NTSB report cited a power loss aboard the plane and said the pilot suffered disorientation while flying the plane manually with still-available instruments.

After that crash, the university began requiring a firm to check out the condition of any plane used by a school sports team. It wasn’t immediately known if that policy also applied to planes that carry only coaches or other school employees, or if the plane the women’s coaches were traveling in had undergone an independent check.

Thursday night, the weather near the crash site was clear with temperatures in the upper 30s to mid-40s.

Comments (19)

  • Atrocities
    Posted on November 18, 2011 at 11:54pm

    Their poor families. :( I hope God isn’t blamed for this as **** happens.

    Report Post » Atrocities  
  • ENTP
    Posted on November 18, 2011 at 10:07pm

    I live near Stillwater, & it is true that the community is very close.
    Hard to believe but for a University, God still plays a roll there. It was very moving to see tonight those fans of Iowa St holding up signs that said their prayers were with OSU. Tragic story.
    Some people are making comments about commercial flights, etc, but there are people out there that are wealthy that SHARE their property & donate their time, services & resources.
    I do not see Anything wrong with volunteering yourself for others in your community or your communities schools.

    Report Post » ENTP  
  • flagwaver53
    Posted on November 18, 2011 at 7:28pm

    This is what happens when you try to save money by getting a private pilot to fly you from point A to point B instead of hiring a charter pilot and and aircraft from a reputable firm. From what I hear the pilot was in his 80′s in a aircraft that had four people which was probably over gross weight when it took off. It was a Piper Cherokee 180 with 4 adults. That equals close to 800 pounds. The weather was severe clear and unlimited visibility although it was probably dark. My guess is heart attack.

    Report Post »  
  • OneShotPagan
    Posted on November 18, 2011 at 6:33pm

    I bleed orange … this is very sad … blessed be

    Report Post » OneShotPagan  
  • OneShotPagan
    Posted on November 18, 2011 at 6:31pm

    I bleed orange … this is very sad … blessed be …

    Report Post » OneShotPagan  
  • jjohnson_n_oklahoma
    Posted on November 18, 2011 at 4:51pm

    I live only 30 minutes from the OSU campus. Sad to see this happen again to this great b-ball team. My thought and prayers are with the families during this tragic time.

    Report Post » jjohnson_n_oklahoma  
  • jado1981
    Posted on November 18, 2011 at 3:44pm

    Red Raider nation stands with a bowed head for the people of OSU. God has called them home, and our prayers go out to their families.

    Report Post »  
  • thegreatcarnac
    Posted on November 18, 2011 at 3:13pm

    Sorry

    Report Post »  
  • andrianna
    Posted on November 18, 2011 at 1:57pm

    How truely traggic. May God be with those who were touched by their lives and heal their hearts. My heart goes out to all of you suffering from this horrible accident.

    Report Post »  
  • osucowgirl88
    Posted on November 18, 2011 at 1:27pm

    As a graduate of OSU, my heart goes out to all those in the Cowboy Nation. I implore Pres. Hargis to carefully review transportation guidelines and require employees of the school to either fly commercially or drive. A friend of mine lost her husband in a crash just last year, and the convenience of private flight just isn’t worth the heartache when something goes wrong. My heart goes out to the families and the fans.

    Report Post »  
  • OkstateCon88
    Posted on November 18, 2011 at 1:22pm

    I am a student at OK state and this tragedy hits home very hard. This brings back memories from ten years ago when we lost ten members of the men’s basketball team in a plane crash. This event has opened up old wounds in the community, as these people we lost were great people and great role models. It is truly a shame that the OK state family must go through this again.

    Report Post »  
    • TulsaYeeHaw
      Posted on November 18, 2011 at 4:19pm

      I was there for the first one, and my wife knew 2 of the people killed then. This sucks.

      Report Post »  
    • OkstateCon88
      Posted on November 18, 2011 at 5:35pm

      I was actually a ball boy for the men’s team when the ten died. I got a first hand look at what it did to the locker room. The guy the took care of the ball boys was one of the unfortunate. I just can’t believe it has happened again.

      Report Post »  
  • sWampy
    Posted on November 18, 2011 at 1:11pm

    Sad to see anyone crash, but we really should stop wasting tax payer money on useless athletics. If they come to school to learn, and also want to play some sports for fun, fine, don’t make make athletics the only reason.

    Report Post »  
    • Geoff
      Posted on November 18, 2011 at 1:55pm

      That’s a really dumb thing to say. Sports at Oklahoma state are basically self sustaining. There is no “money from the government” to play athletics. The teams sell tickets to bring in money and the majority of the money comes from Donors (Boone Pickens) and Alumni. I’ll assure you, there is no money from the federal government in the OSU athletic program. The only money I can think of would be research grants. Since no research is done on a basketball court or football field, I don’t think this applies.

      Report Post » Geoff  
    • TulsaYeeHaw
      Posted on November 18, 2011 at 4:21pm

      Well stated, Geoff. Oklahoma State is an athletic program that now makes more than it takes in. Anyone who wants proof should tune into ESPN tonight and watcht the fireworks.
      ORANGE POWER!!

      Report Post »  
  • lukerw
    Posted on November 18, 2011 at 1:07pm

    The old rule for Teams was… never Travel together!

    Report Post » lukerw  

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