Hillsgrove Airport – December 22, 1940
Warwick, Rhode Island
On December 22, 1940, two aircraft, each flown by student pilots, collided in mid-air directly over Hillsgrove Airport. One, an Aeronca Cub, flown by Gilbert B. Kornstein, 19, and the other a Taylorcraft, flown by Millard McInnis, 26.
The impact broke the tail off the Aeronca, sending it plummeting to the ground killing Kornstein instantly.
McInnis was able to nurse his damaged plane down, clipping a tree and flipping over in the Norwood section of Warwick, about three miles from the airport. He required a tourniquet to stem the flow of blood from a leg wound, but he survived.
Source:
Woonsocket Call, “Young North Smithfield Flier Dies In Mid-Air Crash”, December 23, 1940, Pg. 1
