Person:Cloyce Odell (1)

Cloyce Odell died at age 25 in an airplane accident in March of 1928. According to a newspaper article, Cloyce was a student-passenger in a two-seated plane which plunged to the ground, nose diving into the ground near a subdivision close to Lindbergh field. The plane motor buried itself 5 feet into the earth and both pilot and student were bruised and cut almost beyond recognition. The accident is believed to have been caused by an unbreakable grip on the control stick occassioned by sudden excitement or fear on the part of Odell. Officials at the Kalamazoo Airport feel that the accident was caused by Odell's strong hold on the stick, forcing the plane into a nose dive that the pilot was unable to break. That the pilot had used his entire strength to wrest the control free of Odell's death grip was evidenced, the Sheriff stated, by the finding of the rudder handle...Travis' control stick, pulled ... the top of the lever. (some words torn off)