1969 Newton Cessna 172 crash

Aviation accident

41°42′25″N 93°04′34″W / 41.707°N 93.076°W / 41.707; -93.076AircraftAircraft typeCessna 172RegistrationN3149XFlight originMidway AirportDestinationDes Moines, IowaPassengers2Crew1Fatalities3Survivors0

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

The flight

On Sunday, August 31, 1969 at 8:05 pm CDT, the Cessna 172 with registration number N3149X crashed in a pasture near Newton, Iowa,^[1]^[2] approximately thirty miles (50 km) east of Des Moines.

It had departed from Chicago Midway Airport at 6 pm (1800 hrs) and was en route to Des Moines, where Marciano was to celebrate his 46th birthday at a party the next day.^[2]^[3]^[4] This was to be a surprise party for him; he was to give a speech in support of his friend, Louis Fratto's son.^[3] Marciano intended to later fly to Florida to celebrate his birthday at home with his family.^[3]

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 continuing to Des Moines as planned, to avoid the bad weather. While trying to land at Newton the aircraft entered low cloud, attempted an overshoot and the pilot lost control, impacting a lone oak tree in a corn field.^[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]

References

^ ^a ^b "Unbeaten Rocky Marciano loses life in plane crash". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. September 1, 1969. p. 19. Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Newton, IA Rocky Marciano Killed In Plane Crash, Aug 1969". gendisasters.com. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Rocky Marciano". check-six.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
^ Harro Ranter. "ASN Aircraft accident 31-AUG-1969 Cessna 172H N3149X". aviation-safety.net. Archived from the original on December 11, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
^ "Rocky Marciano is Killed in a Plane Crash". World History Project. Archived from the original on September 5, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2015.

External links

planecrashinfo.com – for data and photos

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1969 (1969)

Jan 5

Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701

Jan 6

Allegheny Airlines Flight 737

Jan 13

Scandinavian Airlines Flight 933

Jan 18

United Air Lines Flight 266

Feb 18

El Al Flight 432

Feb 18

Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708

Feb 24

Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 104

Mar 5

Prinair Flight 277

Mar 16

Viasa Flight 742

Mar 20

United Arab Airlines Aswan crash

Mar 25

Delta Air Lines Flight 821

Apr 2

LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165

Apr 15

EC-121 shootdown incident

Apr 28

LAN-Chile Flight 160

May 23

1969 theft of C-130

Jun 4

Mexicana de Aviación Flight 704

Jun 23

Yukhnov mid-air collision

Jul 12

Royal Nepal Airlines DC-3 crash

Jul 26

TWA Flight 5787

Aug 3

Aeroflot Flight N-826

Aug 29

TWA Flight 840

Aug 31

Newton Cessna 172 crash

Sep 9

Allegheny Airlines Flight 853

Sep 12

Philippine Air Lines Flight 158

Sep 26

La Paz LAB DC-6 crash

Nov 19

Mohawk Airlines Flight 411

Nov 20

Nigeria Airways Flight 825

Dec 3

Air France Flight 212

Dec 8

Olympic Airways Flight 954

Dec 11

Korean Air Lines YS-11 hijacking

1968 ◄ ► 1970

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1960s
1960	National Airlines Flight 2511 Capital Airlines Flight 20 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 710 Chicago Helicopter Airways Flight 698 World Airways Flight 830 Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 Cal Poly football team New York mid-air collision
1961	Goldsboro B-52 American Airlines Flight 1502 Yuba City B-52 United Air Lines Flight 859 Alaska Airlines Flight 779 TWA Flight 529 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706 Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8 Cincinnati Zantop DC-4
1962	American Airlines Flight 1 Continental Airlines Flight 11 Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 301 United Air Lines Flight 297 Eastern Air Lines Flight 512
1963	Elephant Mountain B-52 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705 Camden PA-24 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 293 Mohawk Airlines Flight 112 Pan Am Flight 214
1964	Savage Mountain B-52 Eastern Air Lines Flight 304 Paradise Airlines Flight 901A Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 United Air Lines Flight 823 Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114 Flying Tiger Line Flight 282
1965	USAF KC-135 Wichita Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 Pan Am Flight 843 Continental Airlines Flight 12 Allegheny Airlines Flight 604 United Air Lines Flight 389 American Airlines Flight 383 United Air Lines Flight 227 Carmel mid-air (Eastern 853, TWA 42)
1966	NASA T-38 American Flyers Airline Flight 280/D Braniff International Airways Flight 250 West Coast Airlines Flight 956
1967	Lake Central Airlines Flight 527 TWA Flight 553 West Coast Airlines Flight 720 Delta Air Lines Flight 9877 Mohawk Airlines Flight 40 Piedmont Airlines Flight 22 Lake Erie skydiving disaster TWA Flight 159 X-15 Flight 3-65-97 TWA Flight 128
1968	Ozark Air Lines Flight 965 Braniff International Airways Flight 352 Los Angeles Airways Flight 841 Los Angeles Airways Flight 417 Northeast Airlines Flight 946 Japan Air Lines Flight 2 Pan Am Flight 281 Wien Consolidated Airlines Flight 55 Allegheny Airlines Flight 736 Pan Am Flight 799 North Central Airlines Flight 458 Ozark Air Lines Flight 982
1969	Allegheny Airlines Flight 737 Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 933 United Air Lines Flight 266 Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708 Prinair Flight 277 Delta Air Lines Flight 821 TWA Flight 5787 Newton Cessna 172 crash Allegheny Airlines Flight 853 Mohawk Airlines Flight 411
This list is incomplete.