Published in the Albert Lea Evening Tribune, Albert Lea, Minnesota, October 31, 1977, Page 3
FAA Checking Plane Death of Former State Woman
TONOPAH, Nevada - Authorities are investigating the cause of a single-engine plane crash that killed a former Rochester, Minnesota woman and her husband during an attempt to break a world speed record last Tuesday October 25, 1977.
The victims were identified as Robert and Shelley Reichardt of Ojai, California. Mrs. Reichardt was the former Shelley Kirkwood of Rochester.
Authorities said the 1932 Howard aircraft named "Mr. Mulligan" was flying in excess of 300 miles an per hour when it crashed on a dry lake bed near the Tonopah Airport last Tuesday. Nye County Sheriff C.J. Howard said the plane was flying low to the ground when it suddenly plummeted downward. "It pretty near disintegrated," he said.
One observer at the scene said the aircraft was making its third pass in a westerly direction when it suddenly pitched upward before crashing. Reichardt was still in the plane when rescuers reached the wreckage. His wife had been thrown from the craft. Authorities said both were dead at the scene.
Federal Aviation Administration officials are inveatigating the cause of the crash. "Mr. Mulligan" reportedly crashed 11 years ago and had been rebuilt.
NOTE: Shelley was survived by her parents, one sister LaVonne Kirkwood, and a brother Jon Kirkwood. Shelley and her husband are buried in the Nordhoff Cemetery, Ojai, California. Visit her Find A Grave memorial.
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