Fred Gottschalk

Frederick "Fred" O. Gottschalk (July 4, 1902 – January 12, 1965) was a Democratic politician from Nebraska who served as a member of the Nebraska Legislature from the 26th district from 1963 to 1965. He died in an airplane crash near Nebraska City, Nebraska.

Early life Gottschalk was born in Columbus, Nebraska, in 1902, and graduated from Columbus High School. He graduated from the University of Michigan and later attended the University of Nebraska College of Law, but did not graduate. Governor Frank B. Morrison appointed Gottschalk to serve out Peck's term, and he was sworn in on January 1, 1963. and was challenged by farmer Sam Luchsinger and businessman Herb Nore. In the nonpartisan primary, Gottschalk placed third, winning 29 percent of the vote to Luchsinger's 38 percent and Nore's 33 percent, and he was the only incumbent senator to lose renomination.

Death Gottschalk died on January 12, 1965, when a plane he was piloting crashed into the Missouri River several miles north of Nebraska City, Nebraska, during a snowstorm, killing him and his daughter, Carol. Gottschalk was flying with his daughter, who was a student at Monticello College, from Alton, Illinois, to Columbus, Nebraska. A subsequent investigation by the Civil Aeronautics Board concluded that Gottschalk, a non-instrument rated pilot, was at fault for continuing visual flight in adverse weather conditions.