Ebersol Family Tells Oprah About Crash

Mother Says She Cannot Bear To Touch Clothes Of Son Who Died

(AP)  Actress Susan Saint James told Oprah Winfrey that she cannot bear to even touch the clothes of her son Teddy Ebersol after a 2004 Colorado plane crash killed the 14-year old and two others.

"Here's the bad part ... I've never touched his clothes, I've never been able to move his things," Saint James said in the interview broadcast Thursday, her voice cracking as she wiped away tears.

Saint James, husband and NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol, and their two surviving sons appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" for their first interview as a family since the crash.

Also Thursday, federal investigators released a transcript of the cockpit voice recorder in which the first officer concluded the plane's wings looked "good."

Teddy Ebersol was aboard a chartered Canadair CL-601 Challenger jet with his father and older brother, Charlie, on Nov. 28, 2004, when it crashed during takeoff in light snow and freezing temperatures from the airport near Montrose, Colo. Pilot Luis Alberto Polanco, 50, and flight attendant Warren Richardson III, 36, also were killed.

Dick Ebersol, Charlie Ebersol, and co-pilot Eric Wicksell were injured. Saint James, an Emmy Award-winning actress who took time off from her career to raise their children, was not on the plane.

Dick Ebersol, who was badly injured, said on the show that his son Charlie got him off the plane and kept him alive.

"He not only got me off of the plane ... he ran back into the plane, which had 3- or 4-foot flames all around it, to look for his brother one more time, not knowing that his brother wasn't on the plane. And he lived through hell for two days 'cause somehow or other he thought he hadn't found his brother and it wasn't until they found Teddy's body which was under the plane ... that he knew that he had done everything he possibly could do."

Charlie Ebersol, who paused often to cry during the interview and was comforted by his brother Willie, said he remembered every moment of the crash, which he described as "very violent."

"It's one of those moments that ... they say lasted 15 seconds, it was hours," he said.

Dick Ebersol and Saint James said the family talks about the crash often.

"I think we would all agree, the whole family would agree that, the amazing thing is, you get up the next day, you brush your teeth, you comb your hair ... life is so powerful, you just go on living," Saint James said.

The National Transportation Safety Board has not determined the cause of the crash. The agency is considering mechanical problems and the condition of the pilots as well as weather conditions.

According to the voice recorder, about 15 minutes before takeoff, the pilot asked "How do you see the wings?"

"Good," the first officer answered. "Looks clear to me," the pilot said, and they readied for takeoff in slushy conditions.

Seconds after takeoff, the first officer can be heard saying "rotate," followed by "you want the gear up?" A loud rumble takes over the tape, and then the recorder goes silent.

The plane skidded across the runway, ripped apart and burst into flames.