Beaverton Historical Society Gladwin County Obituary/Death Notice
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John Knight
Plane Crash Is Fatal To Two Tuesday
John B. Knight And Frederick A. Heinz Lose Lives When Their Plane Crashes and burns In Secord
John B. Knight, 19, and Frederick Aldon Heinz, 20, both of Gladwin were killed about 4:15 p.m.
Tuesday afternoon when their plane crashed and burned 15 miles northeast of Gladwin in Secord
Township. Knight was piloting the plane, owned by Sutherland Bros. Flying Service, at the time of the
crash. According to Hugh Sutherland, flying instructor, Knight had qualified for his private pilot's
license with more than 60 hours of flying time. Heinz was with him as a passenger.
In a statement to The Record this morning Sutherland said that a witness to the crash had reported
that when he observed the plane it was doing tail spins. Sutherland said this was a violation of his
instructions to the pilot, which were to fly straight and level within a six mile radius of the port
and to practice take-offs and landings. The cloud ceiling, he said, was 1100 feet when the plane took
to the air and did not permit any other manuevers. An altitude of 3500 feet with a low of 1500 is
necessary to do a spin with safety, Sutherland stated.
The plane was a new one, recently purchased by Sutherland Bros., who operate the municipal airport
here. It was not insured. Double funeral services will be held Friday at 2 p.m. from the Hall Funeral
Home with the Rev. John Scott, of the Methodist church officiating. Heinz will be buried in Highland
and Knight in Ridge cemetery. Young Knight is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Knight, of Sage Township.
He was born August 8, 1929, and attended Gladwin high school. He served in the U.S. army and spent some
time overseas.
In addition to his parents he is survived by two brothers, Glen and Daniel; three sisters, Mrs.
Maxine Cassidy, Mrs. Helen Walters, Mrs. Geneva Ellwood; and his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Norman Knight.
Heinz is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Heinz, of Glawin. After attending Gladwin high school he has
been employed in his father's garage as a mechanic. He was born in Gladwin Sept. 23, 1928.
He is survived by his parents; four brothers, Richard, Robert, James and Gerald; three sisters, Mrs.
Mary Ann Kleiss, Joy and Barbara; both grandmothers, Mrs. Heinz and Mrs. Long.
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Personal Information
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Death Date
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Burial/Final Location
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Service
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01/25/1949
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Ridge Cemetery, Gladwin, MI
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US Army WWII
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Publication Information
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Pub. Date
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Publication
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Pub. Page
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01/26/1949
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Gladwin County Record, Gladwin, MI
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P:1 C:7
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Transcription Information
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Date
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Transcribed by
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Source Media
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January 2005
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Tom Ladner
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Microfilm
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