On This Date in Sports October 25, 1999: Lost in the Air
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
Golfer Payne Stewart dies in an air disaster flying on a Learjet from Orlando to Dallas. Stewart was with his agents Van Ardan and Robert Fraley. Also, a course designer Bruce Borland and two pilots were on board when the flight lost cabin pressure, causing all aboard to succumb as the plane drifted off course. Escorted by fight jets, the aircraft ran out of gas and crashed in a field in South Dakota.
The 1999 PGA season had been a magical one for Payne Stewart. After winning just one tournament in the past eight years, Stewart enjoyed a year of resurgence, winning two tournaments, including the US Open at Pinehurst. Stewart finished the season seventh on the PGA’s money list earning over $2 million. In addition to $12.67 million during his career. Just one month earlier, Payne Stewart played a significant role in Team USA’s Ryder Cup comeback in Brookline.
William Payne Stewart was born on January 30, 1957, in Springfield, Missouri. A traditionalist at heart, Stewart became famous for wearing clothing that made him look like a golfer from the 1920s. Stewart played golf at SMU before turning professional in 1979. While struggling to earn his tour card, he played golf Asian Tour. Payne Stewart finally made it on the PGA Tour in 1982, earning his first career win at the Miller Life Open. Tour victories would often elude Stewart, as he had just three victories entering the 1989 PGA season.
In 1989, Payne Stewart had his best season on the tour, winning the MCI Heritage Golf Classic, along with his first major, the PGA Championship at Kemper Lake Golf Club outside of Chicago. Before winning the PGA, Stewart’s best finish at a major had been the 1985 British Open, when he finished one stroke behind Sandy Lyle at Royal St. George. Payne Stewart again had two tour victories in 1990, before winning the US Open in a playoff over Scott Simpson at Hazeltine in Minnesota.
After winning the 1991 US Open, Payne Stewart endured a prolonged slump, as he would not enjoy another tour victory until 1995 when he won the Shell Houston Open. During the struggles, Stewart only finished in the top ten in a major twice, even losing the right to qualify for the Masters. With a new breed of golfers hitting the ball further, it appeared as if Payne Stewart’s best days were behind him. Not winning again for the next three years, Stewart had a four-stroke lead at the 1998 US Open, but lost by one-stroke the Olympic Golf Club in San Francisco.
After starting the 1999 season with a win at the AT&T Pro-Am in Pebble Beach, Payne Stewart again found himself in contention to win the US Open at Pine Hurst in North Carolina. This time he would not fall short, hitting clutch 15-foot putt to beat Phil Mickelson on the final hole to win his second US Open and his third major title. Due to his win at the US Open, Payne Stewart was a part of the 1999 US Ryder Cup Team, after failing to qualify in 1995 and 1997. As the Americans staged a final-round comeback, Stewart showed his reverence for the game conceding the final match to Colin Montgomerie after victory was clinched.
Payne Stewart was set to finish the 1999 season by playing in the Tour Championship in Houston. Before heading to Houston, Stewart had planned to spend a day in Dallas to review plans for a new course that he was working on. Sometime shortly after departing from Orlando at 9:19 in the morning, while climbing to 39,000, the plane suffered a catastrophic loss of cabin pressure. The cause remains unknown as the crash damaged where the leak occurred. Upon losing cabin pressure, all aboard, including the pilots, died due to a lack of oxygen.
News of Payne Stewart’s doomed flight played out live on cable television as the FAA was able to track the flight that by now had flown off course. As flight crews failed to radio the pilots, Fighter Jets were dispatched by the Air Force to examine what was causing the lack of contact and the change of flight path. Upon examination, they discovered fog and ice forming on the windows, signs that something had gone wrong internally with the aircraft. As the Learjet reached an altitude 49,000 feet, the Air Force sent several jets to intercept and examine, to assure he plane would not go down over a populated area. Eventually, the Learjet began to descend and slow as it ran out of fuel. Fortunately, it would crash in an open field in Edmunds County, South Dakota, four hours after taking off from Orlando. The crash left a deep crater as much of the plane was destroyed. This prevented investigators from discovering the cause of the pressure loss. In addition, the two-decade out aircraft possessed inadequate flight recorders, only recording the last 30 seconds as the flight recorder was only able to store the previous 30 minutes of any flight as continually recorded over any prior recording. With the plane communication going dark early, any signs of distress were long since lost.
Tributes came in immediately following Payne Stewart’s death as Stewart Appleby wore his clothes during the Tour Championship. The PGA would establish the Payne Stewart Award to the golfer, who most respected the rules and traditions of golf. At the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach, 21 Golfer fired balls into the Pacific Ocean in a sign of remembrance. At the place of his last victory, Pinehurst would later unveil a statue of Payne Stewart in his celebration pose near the 18th Green, commemorating his 1999 US Open Championship.