Near Bennington, VT – July 15, 1930

Near Bennington, Vermont – July 15, 1930

     On July 15, 1930, Frank Goldsborough and Donald Mockler were flying from Cleveland, Ohio, to Keene, New Hampshire, when they encountered fog over the Bennington region and crashed into a mountain eight miles east of Bennington.   The plane had struck a tree and slid to the ground pinning Goldsborough in the wreck, but Mockler was able to extricate himself and go for help.  For five hours he made his way through the woods and brush before coming to a farmhouse a mile out of Bennington.   

     A contingent of about 100 volunteers accompanied Mockler back into the woods to the wreck site.  Progress was slow because Mockler had lost his glasses, and had trouble identifying landmarks.   Sixteen hours after the crash, Goldsborough was carried down the mountain and brought to Putnam Memorial Hospital in Bennington where he died the following day. 

     Frank Goldsborough had recently achieved fame as the American record holder of the Junior Transcontinental Air Speed Record.   He was the son of Frank Goldsborough who was himself a well known pilot, who died in December of 1927 when his aircraft disappeared off Cape Cod.

Source: New York Times, “Goldsborough Crashes In Vermont Mountain; Party Seeks Young Flier Pinned Under Plane”, July 15, 1930 

Wikipedia – Frank Goldsborough

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