Cochrane, Ruard William – 1915-1949

BLAISE, COCHRANE, MOLONA, NAGLE

Posted By: Diana Wagner
Date: 7/13/2021 at 21:35:28

R. W. Cochrane Killed In Plane Crash Sunday
Ruard W. Cochrane, 33, Iowa City, formerly of Monroe, was killed outright when a plane which he was piloting crashed Sunday near West Liberty, Iowa.
The plane, a Stinson voyager, took off from the Iowa City airport at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, with three passengers in addition to Cochrane.
Byron Williamson, Bettendorf, a motorist, told highway patrolmen he was driving along Highway 6 when he saw the plane bank, circle about three times, then nose sharply down and disappear into a corn field.
The plane struck the ground about 70 feet from a fence, plowed through the fence, then turned over on its back. It did not burn.
All occupants of the plane were killed. Rescuers had to break the plane apart to remove the bodies.
Cochrane was regarded as a very able pilot and had held a commercial pilot’s license since 1941, and was also a licensed flight instructor.
Obituary
Ruard William Cochrane was born November 16, 1915, at Monroe, Iowa, the son of James H. and Linnie Cochrane. He died September 4, 1949, in an airplane accident near West Liberty, Iowa. The family lived in Pella, Iowa, where he attended grade school, and later moved to Des Moines, where he graduated from Roosevelt high school. He attended the University of Iowa, graduating in 1987, and in 1939 he received his degree from the Harvard School of Business Administration. For three years during the war he was a Naval Flight Instructor.
He was married June 24, 1949 to Elizabeth Blaise of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He owned and operated the Iowa City Flying Service for the past two years, and was employed as manager of the Iowa City airport.
He is survived by his wife, mother, father and two sisters, Mrs. Gerald A. Molona of Berne, Switzerland and Mrs. George Nagle of Iowa City.
Source: Monroe (IA) Mirror; Thursday, September 8, 1949, page 1