October 25, 1999
Web posted at: 3:36 p.m. EDT (1936 GMT)

MINA, South Dakota (CNN) -- A private jet carrying golf champion Payne Stewart and four other people flew out of control for 1,500 miles, traveling from Florida to South Dakota before crashing in a field Monday. There were no survivors.

The Dallas-bound Learjet 35 was co-owned by Stewart.

There were no reports of injuries on the ground.

Flight controllers lost radio contact with the aircraft during the morning, while the plane was over Florida. The aircraft -- with two pilots and three passengers -- went down about four hours later in rural north-central South Dakota.

It crashed about two miles outside of Mina, a small town west of Aberdeen, in Edmunds County, police said. "The plane had pretty much nosed straight into the ground," a witness told The Associated Press.

FAA spokesman Paul Turk said the plane had flown as high as 45,000 feet (13,500 meters). Before the crash, he had described the plane as being "in distress."

CNN/SI COVERAGE Photo Gallery: 1999 U.S. Open One on One: Payne Stewart React: Remembering Stewart's legacy     MESSAGE BOARD Learjet crash

Pilots on two U.S. Air Force F-16 fighters, sent up by the Oklahoma Air National Guard to track the civilian aircraft as it flew over the Midwest, said the occupants were "nonresponsive."

They said the Learjet's windows frosted over, an indication that the plane might have lost pressure and that its occupants were already dead.

Officials said the Learjet took off from Sanford, Florida -- near Orlando -- at 9:20 a.m. EDT with a flight plan giving its destination as Dallas, Texas.

Air traffic controllers lost radio contact with the plane about 20 minutes later, as it passed Gainesville, Florida.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was readying a team of investigators to go to the site of the crash.

Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre contributed to this report.