Exeter, Rhode Island – August 22, 1980
On the evening of August 22, 1980, two men left Quonset State Airport in a single-engine Piper PA-18, (N9863D), bound for Griswold, Connecticut. Shortly after taking off the engine began running erratically, and the pilot attempted to make an emergency landing in a field in the town of Exeter, about a half mile off Glen Rock Road. The field was overgrown with brush, and the plane crashed, killing the pilot and seriously injuring the passenger. The passenger spent the night huddled under one of the wings. The following day searchers spotted the wreckage from the air, and rescuers transported the injured man to Kent County Hospital for treatment.
Sources:
Westerly Sun, (R.I.), “Fatal Crash”, August 24, 1980, page 1. (With photo of crash scene.)
Aviation Safety Network
