Bethlehem, CT. – October 3, 1979

Bethlehem, Connecticut – October 3, 1979

     On October 3, 1979, a twin-engine Cessna 310 with three men aboard left Richmond, Virginia, bound for Oxford Airport in Oxford Connecticut.  That evening, while over Connecticut, the pilot encountered thick fog conditions.  He attempted to land at the airport, but was forced to “go  around” for another try.  As he was doing so, with the airplane’s landing gear down, one of the aircraft’s wheels struck the roof of a garage that was attached to a private home on Kasson Road in the neighboring town of Bethlehem.  The aircraft then cartwheeled across an open field behind the house before coming to rest against a stone hedgerow about 300 feet away.  As the plane cartwheeled, both passengers were thrown out and killed.  The plane didn’t catch fire. The pilot survived and was transported to St. Mary’s Hospital with serious injuries.

     A 25-year-old woman was inside the house when the plane struck, but was not injured. When she looked outside, the fog was so thick that she couldn’t see the wreckage.  She called the state police, and the trooper who responded found the airplane.   

     Sources:

     The Hartford Courant, “Bethlehem Plane Crash Kills Two Men”, October 4, 1979, page 6     

     New London Day, “Plane Hits Home; Two Die”, October 4, 1979, page 27.

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