Person:Delbert Yettaw (1)

Galien Crash Fatal To Veteran SJ Pilot (pictures included)

  Galien - Veteran pilot Delbert Yettaw of St. Joseph was injured fatally Saturday when his light plane crashed here during a stunt performance before 800 people at this community's Americans Together Day program.
  Yettaw, 48, 327 North Upton drive, St. Joseph, was pronounced dead on arrival at 12:35 p.m. at Pawating hospital, Niles.  Rescue workers said he was unconscious when removed from the wreckage.
  Yettaw was an airplane mechanic for Whirlpool Corp. and a flight instructor at Russ field, Benton Harbor.
  Berrien County sheriff's deputies said the well-known pilot and aircraft mechanic suffered head and internal injuries in the accident.
  The crash, which occurred shortly after noon, cast a pallor over the festive mood of the annual Americans Together Day ceremony.
  The crowd, estimated at 800 people by Berrien sheriff's deputies, had gathered at the American Legion post in Galien for a variety of events, including the first of Yettaw's two performances scheduled for Saturday.
  Mrs. Beverly Rutkowski, 137 Eloise, Benton Harbor, the co-owner of the plane, was serving as the announcer for the show.
  The single-engine two-seater plane crashed into an open field about one-quarter mile northwest of the Legion post on Cleveland avenue.
Lt. Richard Heminger, of the sheriff department's Galien substation, said Yettaw was executing a stunt called a snap roll when the crash occurred.  He said the landing gear of the aircraft struck the ground and the plane skidded and bounced about 100 feet before coming to rest.
  Galien firemen, ambulance crewmen and wrecker service employees worked for about 10 minutes before the unconscious pilot was freed from the wreckage.
  Heminger said fuel spilled from the plane, but there was no fire.
 The cause of the crash has not been determined, according to Thomas Cook of the Federal Aviation  Administration (FAA).  Cook, the FFA's principal operations inspector fo the South Bend, Ind., district, said the National Transportation Safety board will rule on the cause after an investigation is completed.
  Cook describe Yettaw as a "good pilot."  The FFA official said he was on hand to monitor the performance as required by federal regulations.
  Yettaw was alone in the red, white and blue aircraft, the only plane involved in the stunt performance.
  He began flying when he was 14 years old.  During World War II, he was an airplane mechanic in the Navy and was awarded the Purple Heart.
 He was then in the Air Force from 1949 to 1953 and served as an airplane mechanic.  He had logged over 4,000 hours of flying time.
  A second plane that dropped ping-pong balls on the crowd in connection with a contest held later in the afternoon was not in the stunt show, according to Legion post officials.  The post was the sponsor of the two-day event that ended yesterday.
  Funeral services for Mr. Yettaw will be held Thursday at 4 p.m. at the Dey-Florin chapel.  Cremation is to follow.
  He was born Aug. 4, 1927, in Charlevoix, Mich., and came to this area in 1956 from Grand Haven.  He was a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association and had built two experimental planes. He was also a member of the International Aerobatic club.
  Survivors include a daughter, Miss Theresa Yettaw, San Francisco;  two brothers, Glenn, Columbus, Ga., Leo of California; and two sisters, Mrs. Helen Retzlaff, Mrs. Madelyn Bosch, both of Grand Haven.
  Friends my call at the funeral home beginning Wednesday noon.  Memorials may be given to the Yettaw Memorial fund.
 Source: The Herald-Palladium, Benton Harbor, MI, Mon., June 21, 1976 Pg 1.

The Herald-Palladium, Benton Harbor, MI, Mon., June 21, 1976 Pg 1.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Helen Yettaw Retzlaff. Helen Yettaw Retslaff, Record Type: Family Group Sheet. (Aug 1981).
2. ↑ Compiler: Social Security on line records. Social Security.
3. ↑ ^3.0 3.1 News Article, in The Herald-Palladium, Benton Harbor, Michigan,.

   Mon., June 21, 1976 Pg 1.