Boston Airport – August 27, 1929
On August 27, 1929, a Cessna monoplane, designed for racing, was approaching Boston Airport when it suddenly fell from the sky from an altitude of about 600 feet. The plane crashed in about two feet of water along the mud flats between Wood Island Park and the airport.
Witnesses said the wings of the airplane were flapping in the wind, making a sound that could be heard while the plane was still about a mile distant. As it drew closer the pilot tried to attain more altitude, but then a piece of the wing broke free causing the plane to go down.
Killed in the crash was the pilot, Edward J. Devereaux, 23, and a passenger, Edward Reiss, both of New York. Devereaux’s wife, Herma, 21, was taken to East Boston Relief Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries a few hours later. The couple had been married only three months earlier.
Devereaux was the chief pilot for the Curtis Flying Service, and was participating in the Philadelphia – Cleveland Air Derby at the time of the crash.
Investigators blames “mechanical weakness in the aileron fittings” as the primary cause of the accident.
Sources:
Woonsocket Call, “2 Fliers dead In Plane Fall At Boston”, August 27, 1929, Pg.1
Berkeley Daily Gazette, “Plane Crash Laid To Poor Construction”, August 28, 1929
