Greensburg, IN Private Plane Crash, Dec 1951

TWO COLUMBIANS NEW YORK WOMAN KILLED IN CRASH.

Greensburg, Ind., Dec. 8 -- (AP) -- A private plane crashed southeast of Greensburg late today and killed two men and a woman.
The Civil Aeronautics Authority at Indianapolis identified the pilot as W. PERRY SMITH of Columbia, S.C., and the woman as MRS. LUELLA GALLANTINE of Salamanca, N.Y.
The second man was identified as BENNY D. PETERS, Opportunity School, West Columbia, S.C.
The CAA said it was informed the plane had picked up the woman at Orangeburg, S.C.
The CAA said the identifications were made on the basis of the plane's flight plan. The CAA control tower was in radio communication with SMITH before the crash.
The CAA said the plane was en route from Columbia to Chicago.
Police Capt. JOHN LAYTON said the bodies were badly mangled.
The plane, a four-place Navion crashed near U.S. 421, four miles southeast of this city. The cause of the crash was not determined.
Mayor SHELDON SMITH reported that part of one wing was missing from the wreckage. He said that "Louisiana Aircraft Corp." appeared on the plane.
The plane fell in a woods on the HERBERT HERNESCH farm during a rainstorm. The fuel tank was ripped off, and the plane did not burn.
The bodies of the two men were taken to the Howe Mortuary and that of the woman to the Oliger Mortuary, both in Greensburg.

Florence Morning News South Carolina 1951-12-09
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!