Printed in The Pilot, May 16, 1928

AIRPLANE ACCIDENT PROVED FATAL TO ONE

LEROY MILTON PASSED AWAY AT AN OMAHA HOSPITAL LAST WEDNESDAY FROM INJURIES RECEIVED IN AN AIRPLANE ACCIDENT

FUNERAL HELD LAST SUNDAY

LeRoy Milton, aged 19, son of Mrs. Anna Milton, who lives on a farm near Bennington, was finally claimed by death at 1:30 last Wednesday morning at the Covenant hospital in Omaha from the results of the terrible airplane accident which occurred near Kennard on the 30th of April.

The funeral service was held at the home of his mother at 2 o’clock last Sunday afternoon and was attended by a large crowd of relatives and friends. Burial was in the Bennington cemetery.

LeRoy had been working for Ansel Toft for the past two seasons and on the fatal 30th of April went over to the Chris H. Nelson farm nearby to see the new Lincoln-Page plane Ray C. Nelson had just purchased the Friday before and had driven up to his uncle’s home that morning to pile up flying hours for his commercial pilot’s license.

He went over to the Nelson home at the noon hour and begged Ray to take him up for a flight. It was very windy and Ray demurred but after being dared to go up, he finally consented and took his cousin, Orval Nelson up with LeRoy.

They flew for some time out over Kennard and the surrounding territory and had come back home to land in the pasture near the house. Ray was going a little faster than he figured and found he couldn’t bring the plane to stop before hitting a fence so he lifted again and started to circle about and make another landing.

As he did so, he went with the strong wind and as he started down over the brow of a hill a sudden gust lifted the tail of the plane and it went into a nose dive that he couldn’t recover from, there being no resistance going with the wind.

In the crash the three were injured, LeRoy the worst, his face and skull being badly crushed and both legs being broken. He was conscious and game, making a brave fight for life, but the injuries were too serious. He was taken to an Omaha hospital, where he passed away last Wednesday.

Ray and Orval were taken to the home of Mrs. Thos. French, but Ray was able to be taken to his home in Omaha the next day, where he is recovering nicely from his injuries. Orval is also recovering nicely, his face being injured and his right leg broken.

The plane was badly injured, but was shipped back to Lincoln the next day for repairs or to be rebuilt.

LeRoy is survived by his widowed mother, Mrs. Anna Milton, two brothers, Myron and Harvey and two sisters, Mrs. Dorothy Dierks and Miss Vern, who lives at home.