1969 Newton Cessna 172 crash

The 1969 Newton Cessna 172 crash refers to the crash of a Cessna 172 in Iowa, which killed world champion boxer Rocky Marciano, on 31 August 1969.

The flight

N3149X was the registration number of the airplane which crashed, taking the life of former world boxing champion Rocky Marciano as well as two others.^[1] On 31 August 1969 at 8:05PM (20:05), the Cessna 172 crashed in Newton, Iowa, en route to Des Moines^[2] where Marciano was to celebrate his 46th birthday during a party at a steakhouse one day later. This was to be a surprise party for him; he was to give a speech in support of a friend's son.^[3] Marciano was to later on fly to Florida to celebrate his birthday at home with his family.

Accident

There was a storm system 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 preferred to head to Newton instead of landing at Des Moines and risking losing his pilot's license.^[3] The airplane was also short of fuel at the time of the crash.

Witness Colleen Swarts observed the airplane reverse its course and then heard a loud sound as it crashed.^[4]

Accident area

Iowa was stricken by a series of air accidents or incidents involving celebrities during the 1950s and 1960s, particularly this one, 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)^[5] and an incident involving the NBA basketball team, the Minneapolis Lakers on 18 January 1960, when their DC-3 aircraft crash-landed near Carroll, Iowa cornfield.^[6]

Aircraft registration

The registration number was reassigned to a helicopter.^[7]

References

External links

• http://www.planecrashinfo.com/w19690831.htm