North Stonington, Connecticut – May 20, 1983

     On May 20, 1983, a Cessna 172 with three persons aboard left Nantucket, Massachusetts, bound for Groton, Connecticut.  While passing over the town of North Stonington the aircraft lost power and crashed into a large maple tree next to a house located at the corner of Main’s Crossing Road and Route 2.  The severely damaged aircraft was left hanging forty feet in the air lodged in a fork in the trunk in the upper portion of the tree.  There was no fire after the accident, and all three persons remained trapped in the aircraft until freed by local firemen utilizing a bucket truck.   There were transported to a medical facility for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

     Sources:

     Providence Evening Bulletin, “Groton-Bound Craft Lodges In tree Fork; 3 Extricated”, May 21, 1983, page 1, with photo.   

     The Sun, (Westerly, R.I.), “Pilot: ‘I Wasn’t Thinking Whether I Was Going To Die'”, May 22, 1983, page 1, with 2 photos

     The Sun, (Westerly, R.I.), “Air Crash Study Nearly Complete”, August 22, 1983, page 3.  

     The Sun, (Westerly, R.I.), “Two Years After crash, The cause remans Unclear”, May 26, 1985, page 3.