A newspaper portrait photograph of Clayton Bohner, who escaped an airplane crash near the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Bohner, near Curtin, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, in late May 1933.
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An earlier flight of Clayton Bohner, was reported in the Elizabethville Echo, 11 May 1933:
VISITED PARENTS BY AIRPLANE SUNDAY
Not many of us can drop in on our parents by airplane for a visit but Clayton Bohner of Dornsife did just that last Sunday.
Mr. Bohner is employed as a mechanic by his uncle, Henry Latsha, garageman and Chevrolet dealer at Dornsife, who recently purchased a Taylor Cub Eaglet. The plane is operated from a field adjoining the garage and where Mr. Bohner is receiving flying instructions under the tutelage of
Harry Neidig, veteran air pilot of Northumberland.
On Sunday Neidig and Bohner took an air jaunt and surprised the latter’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Bohner, by landing in a field on their farm near Curtin. After a pleasant visit the airmen took to the air and returned to Dornsife. A large number of residents of that community and air enthusiasts inspected the plane during its stay at the Bohner farm.
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From the Shamokin News Dispatch, 31 May 1933:
DORNSIFE MAN ESCAPES WHEN PLANE FALLS
Clayton Bohner Narrowly Escapes Serious Injuries as Plane Engine Falters as He is Taking Off at Millersburg
TAYLOR CUB PLANE BADLY DAMAGED
Clayton Bohner, 30, of Dornsife, narrowly escaped serious injury in an airplane crash when the Taylor Cub plane he was using crashed from an altitude of 100 feet near the Millersburg airport.
Bohner, using the plane of Henry Latsha, Dornsife garage owner, is a mechanic in the employ of Latsha. He had made a flight to Millersburg and was taking off to return when the plane engine failed to function properly, necessitating an emergency landing. The engine suddenly stalled and the plane went down with a resounding crash in a field. A crowd rushed to the scene of crash to find Bohner had escaped injuries although the plane was badly damaged.
The pilot was removed to his home by automobile to recover from shock while the owner of the plane went to the scene to direct removal of the damaged plane and to arrange for repairs.
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From the Elizabethville Echo, 1 June 1933:
Curtin Aviator Escaped In Airplane Crash Sunday Evening
Clayton Bohner, 23, of Dornsife, escaped with severe bruises when an airplane he was piloting crashed in a ploughed field near Holtzman’s school house, west of Curtin, about 6:30 o’clock Sunday evening.
He was unconscious when removed from the wrecked plane and was rushed to the office of Dr. J. E. Bogar in Millersburg, where he recovered and where an examination revealed no fractured bones. On Monday Mr. Bohner was able to walk with the aid of a cane and he is improving rapidly.
The plane, a Taylor Cub, powered by a three cylinder engine, is owned by his uncle, Henry Latsha, automobile dealer and garageman of Dornsife and was purchased several months ago. Bohner, who is employed as a mechanic at the Dornsife garage received his pilot’s license recently.
He had flown the plane from Dornsife to the farm of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Bohner at Curtin, late Sunday afternoon, being accompanied by Miss Mae Long of Trevorton. After a short visit there, Bohner and Miss Long flew to the farm of his uncle, David Latsha near Holtzman’s shool house a mile or two west of Curtin. He had made several flights from that field and was preparing to land when the engine faltered. The plane lost flying speed rapidly and from a height of about fifty feet suddenly nosed to earth in a ploughed field. The engine nosed into the soft earth and settled on the one wing tip with the fuselage and tail rudder in the air.
A sister, Anna Bohner who was standing on the porch watching her brother’s flights, saw the plane fall and heard the crash. She returned to the house and advised members of the family who left their evening meal to go to the scene of the crash. Bohner had already been removed from the plane and was on his way to the physician’s office when they arrived however.
On Monday Mr. Latsha and his assistants went to Curtin with a truck, and after removing the plane’s wings, trucked it back to Dornsife. The plane was damaged to such an extent it is believed factory repairs may be necessary.
An interview with an Echo reporter Monday, revealed that the aviator is a member of an “air minded” family, none of whom desire to discourage him in his air-ambitions.
Not long ago Clayton and Harry Neidig, veteran pilot of Northumberland, flew to the Bohner farm. Bohner was then receiving instructions under Neidig’s tutelage. On occasion Bohner arranged for Neidig to take his mother for her first air flight. In telling her experience, Mrs. Bohner said: “At first I though I might become air sick, but I enjoyed it so much I did not know when we landed. The flight was much too short and I wanted to stay in the air.”
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