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LSU coa BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) ? Louisiana State's new football coach Robert E. 4,Bo" Hein was on a private plane wnicn apparently tried to fly around violent thunderstorms, wandered a thousand miles off course and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, officials said Saturday. An Air Force pilot, who was chasing the plane on its bizarre course, reported he saw it dive straight into the dark water off the Virginia coast about midnight. He reported an oil slick formed afterwards. However, officials refused to say Rein was killed. Paul Manasseh, LSU sports information director, said Rein was aboard the plane when it left Shreveport, La., but the Coast Guard said they could not confirm any fatalities. Rein was named head coach at LSU Nov. 30, 1979, replacing Coach Charlie McClendon whose contract was not renewed. He had been head coach at North Carolina State. There was no explanation for the deviation from the flight plan, under which the plane was to have flown from Shreveport to Baton Rouge. S(iT. PAUL MINT of the Air Force Rescue Center in St. Louis speculated that those aboard lost consciousness ? perhaps because of depressurization ? and then the automatic pilot carried it until it ran out of gas. However, he stressed it was speculation and the cause would not be known until the flight recorder was recovered from the plane. The Coast Guard in Norfolk said two or three persons were on the plane. However, Manasseh said, "There were only two aboard. That's what the assistant coach who took Bo to the plane told us this morning." Manasseh said the plane, a Cessna Conquest twin-engine i 1 i i 1 lui uujji ujj wiiiLii uau ueeii loaneu to LSU, was piloted by Lou Benescotter. It was owned by Nichols Construction Co. of Baton Rouge. Manasseh said Rein had been in Shreveport on a recruiting trip and was picked up by the plane which flew up from Houston. Officials in Shrpvpnnrf said hp had sw?n Alvin Burns, a prospective center from Fair Park High School. The plane left Shreveport about 9:10 p.m. and was due to arrive in Baton Rouge at 10:07 p.m. There was severe weather in the area at the time, with reports of pea-sized hail and winds gusting to 45 mph ?HM i/ fptJ 3 LOCATIONS IN COiUMfcl $*?B\ 1900 DIAMOND LANE . (ACROSS MOM SAM SOiOMO mm 7359 TWO NOTCH M h;vfe\H OffN TH 9 WCCKDAYS feiSSSf^ A I lOJ UAILi cvttw* ~ 9IKCKI OffN 104 OARV , _ Plane goes d ich Bo Re between Baton Rouge and snreveport. THE REASON FOR the disappearance of Rein and his pilot Friday may never be known, but the irony of the story is contained j? W bk m |s VS*\-* m* t* i bo Hem in the flight path of the ill-fated Cessna Conquest in which they rode to their deaths. While the events of late Thursday night account for an alteration of the plane's heading, the fact that it traveled more than 1,000 miles and crossed six states before plunging into the Atlantic was a poignant conclusion to the life of the former North Carolina State football coach. From the moment the 34-yearold Rein and 47-year-old Benscotter became incapacitated or hi STEREO CC i Buy at the Lowesi Most items at/< OVER 55( I of Home & Car Stereo, Blar ' ei For Price Quote or Selection - Mon./Fri. or noon - 8 p.i Welcome. Tel: 78 AUDIO BUYI I mm * -ri 1 [f L11 : r>rxk. ). (BCSSOt WSNOY't) ?mj i BM HSBP* for affordable distim 'own 2,100 miles in dies in died shortly alter the plane left Shreveport, La., the twin-engine turboprop was free to fly its own :? ?> * v-uuiac uuiii 11 apparently ran oui of fuel and dived nearly eight miles through the early-morning darkness to the cold ocean below. Rein, who had risen to prominence at N.C. State before accepting the more prestigious position at Louisiana State, had left North Carolina twice in con-J nection with the advancement of j his burgeoning career. Ironically, the Tar Heel state was the last over j which the plane passed en route to j the crash at sea. IT FLEW ALMOST directly over' Raleigh, where Rein had known his greatest triumphs, and the suburb of Gary, where his daughters, who had not seen much of their father recently, were asleep in their beds. The odds against such an occurrance would be at least 360-1 on the compass. Five years earlier Rein had, accepted an assistant's post at; Arkansas. Despite that Rein was \ so upset over leaving that en route j to Arkansas he called his N.C. State predecessor, Lou Holtz, from the airport in Atlanta and Jiad to be ' dissuaded from turning back. In 1976 he succeeded Holtz and took the Wolfpack to a pair of bowl victories and an Atlantic Coast ' Conference crown in f our seasons. He was a tireless worker who, literally gave his life to the game. Rein died on the job, risking a flight to Baton Rouge under storm conditions after he had spent his final evening trying to recruit a 1 football player. It was typical of Rein's dedication to the game. A Niles. Ohio, native. Rein mnv w ? ' / have been destined for fame at LSU. That never will be known, but his straight-forward approach MPONENTS : Prices ? PERIOD! about wholesale 3 BRANDS ik Tape, ACC. TV's, VCR's, tc. I Assistance, Call after 5 p.m. j m. on Sat./Sun. VISA/M.C. 8-8388 IMG SERVICE 1 ==ii i ,.vt w".B I* * r -' iBrvHl MhbHNHMBM WWMMMM,,1 ' i ? i i , " ' ikjn off course mysterio would have left its mark in the bayou country. The loss of Rein is being mourned in North Carolina, Ohio and Louisiana, but his memory giiiiiiiimiimiiiiminiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii I FRANK'S I 1 800 HAR I FIVE P J Ph. 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