In 1947, three accidents involved the Gratz Airport, Gratz, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Two of the accidents were fatal. The first occurred in April 1947 and involved a young man who had just qualified for his private pilot’s license. On his first solo flight out of the Gratz Airport, he was killed.
Area newspapers reported on the crash. From the Lykens Standard, 25 April 1947:
Hebe Man Dies in Plane Crash, Last Saturday
Funeral services for Glenn Orvin Leitzel, who was killed Saturday when his plane crashed in the yard of his home in Hebe, were held Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the Reed Funeral Home in Pillow. Further services were held at the Hebe Lutheran Church, with the Rev. Ralph Alderfer, officiating. Burial was made in the Hebe Cemetery.
Leitzel had received his pilot’s license only a few hours before the crash. Twenty years old, he was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Warren Leitzel and was a member of David’s Lutheran Church, Hebe. He was a veteran of World War II, having been discharged from services last November.
Besides his parents, the following brothers and sisters survive: Mrs. Russel Bohner, West Lafayette, Ohio; Leon Leitzel, Klingerstown; Mrs. Gladys Keen, Hebe; Ray Leitzel, Roxie Leitzel, Marlene Leitzel, all at home, and his paternal grandfather, Adam Leitzel, Hebe.
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News article from Newspapers.com.
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