Shortly after NASA declared a problem with Saturday morning's landing of the space shuttle Columbia, WRVO FM 90, 570 WSYR, and NewsRadio 950 (WIBX) switched to continuous coverage of the unfolding events.In Syracuse, WRVO tapped into the network services of National Public Radio with Weekend Edition host Scott Simon anchoring its coverage, while WSYR utilized ABC Radio's national network feed. Utica's WIBX broadcast continuous coverage from CBS; Oneida County Executive, Ralph Eannace, first broke the news during the WIBX Town Hall program.
Former 570 WSYR reporter Aaron Katersky, now a newsman for ABC affiliate KTRH in Houston, was on-site at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) at the time of the tragedy and served as ABC's primary reporter from JSC throughout the morning.
Peter King was part of CBS Radio's day-long network coverage. King, a network correspondent for the southeastern United States, worked for WHEN and WRRB in Syracuse during the 1980s.
Columbia exploded in the skies over Texas 16 minutes before its scheduled landing. All seven crew members were killed.