Barnstable, Massachusetts – May 22, 1975

     At 5:30 a.m., a red biplane took off from Branstable Airport and was seen to circle the area for about 40 minutes.  Apparently, during that time, the right landing gear struck the top of a utility pole in the nearby town of Dennis, leaving the wheel dangling from the wires.  At about 7:20 a.m., as ground fog began to clear away, the aircraft was found to have crashed in a wooded area adjacent to the airport. 

     The aircraft had suffered minor damage, and had not burned as a result of the accident.  The pilot, however, could not be found, and a search was instituted.  The search was called off two hours later when the owner of the aircraft appeared at the airport to report to police that his airplane had been stolen after he’d inadvertently left the keys in the ignition the night before.

     Source:

     Westerly Sun, (R.I.), “Plane Is Found, Pilot Missing”, May 22, 1975