Eyewitness Account of the Crash Site
The memories of the fatal crash by Terry Hinshaw
In August 1969, I was a boy of fourteen. A plane crashed on my Aunt
and Uncle's (Henry and Marjorie Eilander's) property South of Newton, Iowa.
As soon as we were aware of it my family all went out to look around. The
investigators were there and were not letting the public in, but my
Grandmother was there (since my Aunt and Uncle were out of town)and told
them we were family, so we were let in. We all
went down in the timber and looked around at the plane. I didn't know who
Rocky Marciano was until then.
I don't
remember a whole lot about that day except the plane sitting there, and
that wing in the tree. I don't think they had taken off from Newton
airport, but were intending to land there, because of the fog and rain and
they were approaching from Southwest of the airport, and missed it by about
two miles. They were right in line with it but too low and clipped that
tree, tearing off a wing. Everyone thought they would have made the airport
if they had missed that tree.
I picked up as a souvenir the thing
that the pilot holds onto when flying the plane; it has handles and if it were on a car it would be the steering wheel. I can't
prove that it was in that plane, but it definetely was. There are no
numbers on it, it does say Skyhawk on it. I have a little gauge too
but I've lost track of that over the years. It's probably in my mom's house.
On your web page about Rocky, I saw the picture of the plane sitting in
that creek, just the way I remember it. There was a wing hanging in a tree
probably about 200 feet away from that part of the plane.
My Grandma has long since passed away, as
has my Uncle. Marjorie(my Aunt and my Mom's Sister), has re-married. They
sold the property a couple years later, and I think it has changed hands a
couple more times since then. It was a twenty-acre timber, with rolling
hills and lots of trees.
If you are ever driving through Iowa on Interstate 80 near Newton, you will
pass right by the airport, it's a small one sitting just on the South side
of the Interstate.
Bob, you can certainly use anything I told you on your page.
