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Allen Dale Mantor

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Allen Dale Mantor

Birth
Lebanon, Boone County, Indiana, USA
Death
20 Oct 1987 (aged 18)
Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, USA
Burial
Amo, Hendricks County, Indiana, USA Add to Map
Memorial ID
View Source
Son of M. Jean (Miller) and Gerald R. "Jerry" Mantor.

His obituary from the October 27, 1987 Hendricks County Flyer:

Services for Allen D. Mantor, 18, Amo, were Saturday afternoon, October 24, Wingler Funeral Home, Coatesville. Mantor, the son of Gerald and Mavis Mantor, was among the nine victims of the aircraft crash at the Airport Ramada Inn in Indianapolis on October 20. He had attended Cascade High School and was employed as a houseman at the hotel. Surviving with the parents are brothers, Gerald M., Michael S. and Jeffrey B. Mantor; sisters, Dana S. Johnson, Cathy L. Abraham, Laurie L. Roush, Kerry A. Wilson, Jeanne M. Mantor, and Kristie K. Mantor; and grandmother, Ruth Mantor.


On October 20, 1987 at 9:11 a.m., the Indianapolis International Airport control tower was contacted by an Air Force pilot needing to make an emergency landing because of engine failure in the A-7D Corsair single-engine airplane he was flying from Pennsylvania to Nevada. The sky was cloudy and visibility was poor. The pilot came in from the southwest and arrived at the landing strip at approximately 3100 feet, too high to make the landing. The control tower advised the pilot to circle back and come in from the southeast on an alternate runway. As the plane made the necessary turn to circle back, it began to fall rapidly and veered off course. The pilot ejected at the last possible moment to save his own life at only 500 feet. The aircraft made contact with the roof of the Bank One building, hit an embankment and then crashed at 9:17 a.m. into the lobby of the Ramada Inn at 5455 W. Bradbury Avenue, Indianapolis. The plane was carrying about 20,000 pounds of fuel. It ignited upon impact. Nine employees were immediately killed in the lobby, laundry and office areas of the first floor of the hotel. A man, who had stopped at the hotel to make a phone call, had burns over 95% of his body and died later.

The fire department had been monitoring the attempted landing and arrived within one minute of the crash. They had the fire contained within three minutes.

The burned hotel stood for two years while the crash was investigated. Eventually it was approved to become a parking lot. The names of the victims, including Allen Mantor, are inscribed on a memorial plaque at Holy Cross Cemetery.
Son of M. Jean (Miller) and Gerald R. "Jerry" Mantor.

His obituary from the October 27, 1987 Hendricks County Flyer:

Services for Allen D. Mantor, 18, Amo, were Saturday afternoon, October 24, Wingler Funeral Home, Coatesville. Mantor, the son of Gerald and Mavis Mantor, was among the nine victims of the aircraft crash at the Airport Ramada Inn in Indianapolis on October 20. He had attended Cascade High School and was employed as a houseman at the hotel. Surviving with the parents are brothers, Gerald M., Michael S. and Jeffrey B. Mantor; sisters, Dana S. Johnson, Cathy L. Abraham, Laurie L. Roush, Kerry A. Wilson, Jeanne M. Mantor, and Kristie K. Mantor; and grandmother, Ruth Mantor.


On October 20, 1987 at 9:11 a.m., the Indianapolis International Airport control tower was contacted by an Air Force pilot needing to make an emergency landing because of engine failure in the A-7D Corsair single-engine airplane he was flying from Pennsylvania to Nevada. The sky was cloudy and visibility was poor. The pilot came in from the southwest and arrived at the landing strip at approximately 3100 feet, too high to make the landing. The control tower advised the pilot to circle back and come in from the southeast on an alternate runway. As the plane made the necessary turn to circle back, it began to fall rapidly and veered off course. The pilot ejected at the last possible moment to save his own life at only 500 feet. The aircraft made contact with the roof of the Bank One building, hit an embankment and then crashed at 9:17 a.m. into the lobby of the Ramada Inn at 5455 W. Bradbury Avenue, Indianapolis. The plane was carrying about 20,000 pounds of fuel. It ignited upon impact. Nine employees were immediately killed in the lobby, laundry and office areas of the first floor of the hotel. A man, who had stopped at the hotel to make a phone call, had burns over 95% of his body and died later.

The fire department had been monitoring the attempted landing and arrived within one minute of the crash. They had the fire contained within three minutes.

The burned hotel stood for two years while the crash was investigated. Eventually it was approved to become a parking lot. The names of the victims, including Allen Mantor, are inscribed on a memorial plaque at Holy Cross Cemetery.

Bio by: J.Sullivan



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