Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-08-23
Investigation Slated
In Iowa Air Crash;
II Killed, 8 Injured
By iha Assoeiaisd Press

6y me ASSocioteo FTSSS
MASON CITY, Iowa, Aug. %.
National Guardsmen stood
watch today around the pasture
where a Braniff International
Always DEB plane crashed,
killing II persons and injuring
8 others, two critically.
The sentinel duty was or
dered to keep the curious from
the scene, a pasture about ID
miles south Of here, pending the
arrival of Civil Aeronautics Board
and Civil Aeronautics Authority
officials, slated to reach Mason
City this morning to investigate
the crash.
The plane, northbound from
Memphis, Tenn, to Minneapolis,
was only about 10 minutes from
Mason City field yesterday when
Braniff officials warned it not to
attempt a landing because of E
violent storm.
ASASs OOSNS1 aAAs
The violent mixture of heavy
wind, rain and hail had "socked
in" the Mason City field and
the leaden skies and lack Of
lights made landing impossible.
The field never received an
answer to it's instructions to the
plane not to land. airline officials
reported. But they added that
even had an acknowledgment
been sent it might not have
been heard because of the heavy
static.
The plane plunged to earth
on the Harold Marquardt farm
Az miles south of the village of
SWaledale and about 18 miles
south of here. There apparently
were no eyewitnesses to the
crash.
Highway patrolmen reported
. a wire OF a new high-voltage
power line between Fort Dodge
and Mason City had been
snapped and they said they be-
lieved the plane had hit the
wire.
However, Fred Gerdes, a
farmer, said he was convinced
the power line was snapped by
the storm and not by the plane.
He said the line break was in
small valley near his home nearly
two miles from the crash scene.
Plane Is Demolished.
Debris from the crash had
spread for more than 500 feet.
Highway patroln1en said the
plane apparently struck the
ground, then bounced for some
distance. The plane was demol-
ished, only the tail section re-
naming relatively intact. !,
A first contact with the wreck
came when a farmer met two
persons stumbling from the field
onto a country road. He helped
them first to Mr.. Marquardt's
home, then to a hospital.
The planes pilot, Capt. w. A.
Pickering. 40, of Parkville, Md,
died at the scene of the crash.
The co-pilot, w. B. Wilde, 81,
of Minneapolis, died a short
time later at the Hampton
Qowa) Hospital.
The hostess, Miss Betty Ann
Truly, %, of Kansas City and
Shreveport, La, was reported in
fair" condition at Mercy Hos
pital in Mason City,
2 "A former Washington, D. c.
resident. Mrs. Goldie RaSkin,
was among the passengers killed.
MRS. Raskin had been a resident
OF Omaha for the last three
years. Her husband, M. A. Ras-
kin, formerly was associated with
the Raskin Market, TOO L street
Sc, Washington.
Mrs. Raskin was flying to
Rochester, Mimi, to take her
mother, Mrs. Sarah Wolfson, to
the Mayo Clinic. Mrs. Wolfson
also was killed.
Among those injured in the
Mason City hospital was Mrs.
Milton Schoenberg, 81, of Denver,
one of two crash victims re-
ported in critical condition. The
other, hospitalized at Hampton,
was Mrs. Lee Nichols of Mime
apolis. Mrs. Schoenberg's hus-
band died nthe crash.
Former Grid Star Hurt.
One of the injured in the
crash was Robert Reitsch, 48, of
Rockford, Ill, captain and CEN
ter of the 1927 University of Il
linois football team. Mr.. Reitsch
is vice president of Reitscn
Brothers, a Rockford building
materials company. He was fly
ing to the Dakotas on business.
Mr.. Reitsch was reported in fair
condition with a spinal injury.
A son. Bob, was guard on the
Illinois basketball squad last.
year.
In Dallas. Braniff officials said
1t was the first fatal crash of one
of the lines planes since 1899. It
was only the second time in Iowa
history that a commercial airlin-
er has crashed with any loss Of
life within the States borders.
The first was in March, 1851.