A photograph of the burned-up remains of the air crash that occurred in July 1947 shortly after pilot David Savidge took off from the Gratz Airport, west of Gratz, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, with one passenger, for a late evening ride. The plane went down in flames in the vicinity of Specktown Road in Lykens Township, Dauphin County. Both the pilot and passenger, Mary Willier were killed.
The accident was the second that occurred involving a plane that had taken off from the Gratz Airport in 1947, the first occurring in April, which involved one fatality. Before the year was over, a third plane from the Gratz Airport crashed on a farm near Middletown. No one was injured in the third crash, but the plane was badly damaged.
The Gratz Airport had only been established in 1946. Planes could be rented there and pilot training was offered through the G.I. Bill of Rights.
The accident generated a significant amount of news coverage throughout the region. The photo above appeared on the front page of the Harrisburg Telegraph, 25 July 1947. The caption read:
‘TIMID’ FIANCEE ESCAPES DEATH — Wreckage of the airplane which crashed and burned near the Gratz Airport early today, killing David Savidge, 29, Hegins R.D. 2, the pilot, and Miss Mary Willier, 29 Hegins. Miss Ruth Koppenhaver, Valley View, Savidge’s fiancee, reluctant to make a night flight, remained in the pilot’s automobile while the other two boarded the plane. A few minutes later she heard an airport attendant cry: “That plane that just took off – I believe it crashed!” Savidge, Miss Willier and Miss Koppenhaver had been friends since school days. They were classmates at Bowling State University, Ohio, graduating about ten years ago. (AP Photo).
_______________________________________
News article from Newspapers.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.