1969 Newton Cessna 172 crash - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.

org/wiki/1969_Newton_Cessna_172_crash

1969 Newton Cessna 172 crash

On August 31, 1969, a Cessna 172 crashed in Newton, Iowa, killing world
1969 Newton Cessna 172
champion boxer Rocky Marciano and two others.[1]
crash

Contents
The flight
Accident
Accident area
References
A Cessna 172 similar to the
External links accident aircraft
Accident summary
Date 31 August 1969 at
The flight 20:05
Site Newton, Iowa
On Sunday, 31 August 1969 at 8:05 pm (2005 hrs) CDT, the Cessna 172
with registration number N3149X crashed in a pasture near Newton, Passengers 2
Iowa,[1][2] approximately thirty miles (50 km) east of Des Moines. Crew 1
Fatalities 3
It had departed from Chicago Midway Airport at 6 pm (1800 hrs) and was
Survivors 0
en route to Des Moines, where Marciano was to celebrate his 46th birthday
Aircraft type Cessna 172
at a party the next day.[2][3][4] This was to be a surprise party for him; he was
Registration N3149X
to give a speech in support of his friend, Louis Fratto's son.[3] Marciano
Flight origin Midway Airport
intended to later fly to Florida to celebrate his birthday at home with his
family.[3] Destination Des Moines, Iowa

Accident
A storm system was building in the Des Moines region at the time of the accident. The airplane's pilot was 37-year-old
Glenn Belz, who was not experienced with night flying or flying during bad weather. Belz decided to head to Newton
instead of landing at Des Moines, which would have risked him losing his pilot's license.[3] The airplane was also short
of fuel at the time of the crash.[3]

Witness Coleen Swarts observed the airplane reverse its course and then heard a loud sound as it crashed.[5]

Accident area
Iowa had two other air accidents involving celebrities during the 1950s and 1960s: the 3 February 1959 crash near
Clear Lake that took the lives of rock and roll stars Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, and the Big Bopper (plus their pilot),[6]
and an incident involving the NBA basketball team the Minneapolis Lakers on 18 January 1960, when their DC-3

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1969 Newton Cessna 172 crash - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1969_Newton_Cessna_172_crash

aircraft crash-landed in a cornfield near Carroll, with no injuries.[7][8][9][10][11]

References
1. "Unbeaten Rocky Marciano loses life in plane crash" (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZJBYAAAAIBAJ&
sjid=KPgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5432%2C105955). Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press.
September 1, 1969. p. 19.
2. "Newton, IA Rocky Marciano Killed In Plane Crash, Aug 1969" (http://www3.gendisasters.com/iowa/3593/newton-
ia-rocky-marciano-killed-in-plane-crash-aug-1969). gendisasters.com. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
3. "Rocky Marciano" (http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/MarcianoCessna.htm). check-six.com. Retrieved
10 December 2015.
4. Harro Ranter. "ASN Aircraft accident 31-AUG-1969 Cessna 172H N3149X" (http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase
/wiki.php?id=6959). aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
5. "Rocky Marciano is Killed in a Plane Crash" (http://worldhistoryproject.org/1969/8/31/rocky-marciano-is-killed-
in-a-plane-crash). World History Project. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
6. "Remembering February 3, 1959: 'The Day The Music Died' " (http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2013/02
/03/remembering-february-3-1959-the-day-the-music-died). Geeks of Doom. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
7. "Plane in storm lands on farm" (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2Q0rAAAAIBAJ&sjid=n5sFAAAAIBAJ&
pg=3061%2C132878). Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. January 19, 1960. p. 13.
8. Bonsignore, Vincent (June 4, 2001). "Lakers almost came to tragic end in 1960" (https://news.google.com
/newspapers?id=8GRWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bPIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6859%2C4073609). Spokesman-Review.
(Spokane, Washington). (Los Angeles Daily News). p. C3.
9. "Lakers glad to be home after ordeal" (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=K7wbAAAAIBAJ&
sjid=cE4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=5942%2C1144773). Pittsburgh Press. UPI. January 19, 1960. p. 24.
10. Crowe, Jerry (April 11, 2010). "In 1960, the Lakers had their worst trip ever" (http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr
/11/sports/la-sp-crowe-20100412). Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
11. "ESPN.com: NBA - The Lakers' plane crash that wasn't" (http://assets.espn.go.com/nba/columns/aldridge
/1036857.html). go.com. Retrieved 10 December 2015.

External links
planecrashinfo.com (http://www.planecrashinfo.com/w19690831.htm)

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