Temple Mountain, New Hampshire – August 8, 1976

     On August 8, 1976, a red and white Piper Tri-Pacer airplane with a lone 60-year-old pilot from Goffstown, N.H. aboard, left Caribou, Maine, bound for Manchester, New Hampshire.  While in-route the aircraft entered cloud bank and crashed on Temple Mountain. (The mountain is located in the towns of Sharon and Temple, New Hampshire.) The aircraft struck some trees and flipped over but the pilot was strapped in and escaped without injury. 

     The aircraft didn’t burn, which enabled the pilot to use it for shelter.

     The pilot was forced to remain with the aircraft for the next three days, during which the remnants of Hurricane Belle came through the area.  The man survived by eating peanuts and some fruit that he’d brought with him.  He also read a Bible, and prayed for rescue.  

     On the third day, after the rain had stopped, he used the plane’s battery, gasoline, and seat material to start a roaring signal fire.  He was rescued by a Coast Guard Helicopter after his signal fire had been seen.

     It is unknown if the aircraft was recovered.

     Sources:

     Providence Evening Bulletin, “Plane Hits Mountain; Pilot Fine”, August 12, 1976, Page A-3 

     Westerly Sun, (RI), “60-Year-Old Waits Out Belle In Wrecked Plane”, August 12, 1976, Page 6.