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.

 

East Greenwich, R. I. – May 16, 1944

East Greenwich, Rhode Island – May 16, 1944 

Near the Exeter town line, off Shippey Road

Updated December 8, 2018

    

F6F Hellcat U.S. Navy Photo

F6F Hellcat
U.S. Navy Photo

     At 10:50 a.m. on the morning of May 16, 1944, Lt. Cmdr. David Wooster Taylor, Jr., 32, took off from Quonset Point Naval Air Station in a F6F-3 Hellcat (Bu. No. 41944) for a routine training mission.  Fifteen minutes later his aircraft was observed by witnesses on the ground to be at about 3,000 feet and flying level when it suddenly went onto a spinning dive from which it did not recover.  Lt. Cmdr. Taylor was killed when his aircraft crashed and burned at the Sunset Valley Reservation in East Greenwich.  The cause of the crash was not stated in newspapers.

     Due to the complete destruction of the aircraft investigators were not able to determine an exact cause for the accident.   

     Lt. Cmdr. Taylor was reportedly survived by his wife Virginia, and two young children, Jean, 4, and David, 3.

     A housing development now stands on the site where this accident took place.

     Lt. Cmdr. Taylor was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross while assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-4) for his part in an attack against enemy shipping off Bodo, Norway, on October 4, 1943.   

     To learn more about Lt. Cmdr. Taylor, and to see a photo of him, go to https://usnamemorialhall.org/index.php/DAVID_W._TAYLOR,_JR.,_LCDR,_USN

Sources:

Woonsocket Call, “Lt. Cmdr. D. W. Taylor Killed In Plane Crash”, May 17, 1944, Pg. 1

North Kingstown, Rhode Island, death records

The Standard, “Quonset Pilot Falls To Death”, May 18, 1944

U. S. Navy Crash report, #44-14197

      

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