LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — Years after sports broadcaster Carley McCord Ensminger died in a Lafayette plane crash, Carley’s mother remembers her life by writing “Only Rainbows, The Carley McCord Story.”

Carley was leaving for Atlanta to cover the LSU Football team play in the Peach Bowl when the plane crashed, killing nearly every passenger on board. Of the six passengers, only one survived.

KLFY News 10 detailed the cause of the crash after the National Transportation Safety Board’s final report on the crash was released in May 2022.

Through the devastation and the investigation, Karen McCord, Carley’s mother, began writing about Carley’s story as a way to navigate grief. It was published in February 2025.

“This book was the gift that God told me that he was going to give me,” Karen said. “Two weeks after the crash, I went on a silent retreat. And I was praying to God and praying to Mary. And I just said, ‘God, why me, and why Carley? And I just got this feeling, and as I looked over to the Virgin Mary, I got the feeling that you’re not alone. And that if Mary can do it, you need to try to do it. And so it was at that moment that I realized I needed to write the book and needed to relive it.”

In the book she also relives stories of Carley’s childhood and pageant career. Carley competed in the Miss Louisiana organization for five years.

“She competed,” Karen said. “And she was first runner up twice, what she would call ‘First Loser.'”

The book also details Carley’s career as a sports broadcaster in radio and television.

The Louisianian worked as a Cox Sports Television, ESPN3 and WDSU sports reporter. Carley was also an in-arena host for the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans. 

“Only Rainbows” gives insight into Carley’s start in sports, which stems from her time as a pageant queen, to her role as a student sports reporter at LSU, all the way to her big break. Karen reveals Carley was accepting a role with a major sports network when she passed away.

Karen says the story was meant to be a story of comfort in grief.

“It began as a tragedy” she said. “But it ended as a love story between a mom and a daughter.”

During her writing, Karen discovered details of Carley’s life that she never knew before, including her undercover scouting work for sports teams. She says this story is also for sports fans and even students.

“It shows students the importance of never giving up and outworking the competition,” Karen said. “But outworking them in love and always honoring God.”

The full “Candid Conversation” with Karen McCord about Carley’s life and legacy can be streamed on demand on KLFY+.

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