Dick Ebersol, who has served as president of NBC Sports since 1989, was injured on Sunday when a chartered jet he was aboard crashed at Montrose Regional Airport in Colorado. A Denver NBC affiliate first reported the accident; NBC later confirmed that Ebersol had sustained injuries but was expected to recover fully.
The plane struck a fence and erupted in flames during its takeoff run. Montrose Regional Airport serves the ski resort of Telluride. The aircraft's pilot and co-pilot both died in the crash.
Two of Ebersol's sons were traveling with him. Charles came through the accident unharmed, but Teddy had not been located by the time reports reached the public late Sunday.
During his tenure, Ebersol built NBC Sports into one of the most prominent broadcast partners of the Olympic movement. The network has locked up US broadcast rights for every Summer and Winter Games on the schedule through 2012.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in November 2004, in its own words.