East Greenwich, R. I. – June 11, 1946

East Greenwich, Rhode Island – June 11, 1946

     At 3:30 pm on June 11, 1946,  a 22-year-old man was attempting to take off from Greenwich Cove in a rented Piper Cub airplane fitted with pontoons.  Just as the aircraft was becoming airborne it was struck by a strong gust of wind which forced one of the wings to dip and touch the water causing the plane to flip onto its back.  The pilot was able to quickly extricate himself and swim to the surface uninjured.  With the help of a friend, the partially submerged plane was towed to a nearby dock where it was later removed by a crane.   

     Source: The Rhode Island Pendulum, “King Gorman Has Narrow Escape  As Plane Sinks In Bay”, June 13, 1946

East Greenwich, R. I. – June 7, 1928

East Greenwich, Rhode Island – June 7, 1928

     On June 7, 1928, pilot Evald Lundberg of East Greenwich was giving airplane rides from a field on the farm of Irvine Law.  After giving several flights without incident, he took off just before 8 pm with a single passenger for what was to be the last flight of the day.  As the airplane was moving across the rough field it seemed to be having trouble gaining speed.  It barely cleared a fence at the edge of the field, and after becoming airborne it hit an air pocket and struck the top of a tall tree.  It then continued on in a nose down angle into a wooded area near some railroad tracks.  There was no fire after the crash.  The aircraft suffered considerable damage and both pilot and passenger received non-life-threatening injuries.      

     Sources:

     The Rhode Island Pendulum, “Lundberg And Wilson In Bad Plane Crash”, June 14, 1928.

     The Pawtucket Times, “Passenger Injured But Pilot Escapes As Biplane Crashes”, June 8, 1928

     Mr. Lundberg later perished in another plane crash on Block Island in 1931.  http://newenglandav.s431.sureserver.com/block-island-r-i-august-27-1931/

East Greenwich, R.I. – November 27, 1985

East Greenwich, Rhode Island – November 27, 1985 

     At 4:30 a.m. on November 27, 1985, a green and white colored Beechcraft C90 King Air, (Reg. No. N220F), with only a pilot and co-pilot aboard, left Morristown, New Jersey, bound for T. F. Green Airport in Warwick, Rhode Island.  The purpose of the chartered flight was to pick up a female passenger at T. F. Green, and fly her to New York. 

     About an hour later, as the aircraft was about eight miles from the end of Runway 5 at T. F. Green, it suddenly vanished from radar.  The weather at the time was foggy, dark, and drizzly, with poor visibility.  The crew had been operating on instrument flight at the time, and no distress call had been received. 

     The pilot had filed his flight plan shortly before leaving New Jersey.  At that time he was advised that there would be “moderate icing conditions” above 10,000 feet, and to expect “moderate turbulence” below 8,000 feet.  The aircraft would be flying at 13,000 feet for most of the flight.  The aircraft took off with full fuel tanks which amounted to 384 gallons.

     The aircraft was equipped with de-icing equipment which included a heated windshield and pneumatic de-icing boots on the wings. 

     At about 5:30 a.m., as the aircraft was approaching T. F. Green, the pilot requested clearance to land on Runway 5, which is the airport’s longest, and was granted permission.  The control tower at Green then relayed wind speed and barometric pressure readings to the crew.  This was the last radio contact with the plane.

     The plane crashed and exploded in a wooded area to the north of South Road in the town of East Greenwich, leaving a large debris field.  Both crew members were killed.

     Sources:

     Providence Journal Bulletin, “2 Die As Plane Crashes On Path To green; Cause Unknown”, November 28, 1985, Page 1, with photo of tail section.

     The Sun, (Westerly, R.I.), “East Greenwich Air Crash Kills Two”, November 27, 1985, page 1, with photo of tail section.

 

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