Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts – July 10, 1973
On the evening of July 10, 1973, a Piper Cherokee 180 left North Central State Airport in Smithfield, Rhode Island, bound for Martha’s Vineyard Airport. There were two men aboard. The pilot, a Providence doctor who held a commercial pilot’s license, and a passenger, an instructor for North Central Airways. The purpose of the flight was to practice instrument landings in foggy conditions so the doctor could gain his instrument certification rating.
At about 8:05 p.m., as the aircraft was approaching Martha’s Vineyard Airport in low lying clouds, it suddenly went down in a wooded area of state forest land about 1800 feet short of the runway. The plane did not burn. The doctor was killed instantly, and the instructor was transported to the hospital in critical condition.
Sources:
Providence Journal, “Plane Crash Kills Providence Man”, July 11, 1973, page 1.
Providence Evening Bulletin, “Plane Crash Kills Providence Dentist”, July 11, 1973
