Danbury, Connecticut – August 19, 1927
On August 19, 1927, Hanford MacNider, the United States Assistant Secretary of War, was a passenger aboard an army airplane piloted by First Lieutenant Maxwell Balfour. The plane was scheduled to land at Danbury, Connecticut, so the MacNider could address the American Legion Convention being held there.
The area had suffered heavy rains prior to MacNider’s arrival, and when the plane landed the wheels dug into some soft turf causing it to flip over. Balfour suffered an injury to his hip, but MacNider was unhurt.
Source: New York Times, “MacNider Unhurt In Airplane Crash”, August, 21, 1927
Updated March 14, 2016
The aircraft flown by Lt. Balfour was a PT-1, (Ser. No. 27-158), a bi-wing primary trainer used by the Army Air Service. The cause of the accident was blamed on poor ground conditions.
Source: Aircraft Accident Report, dated August 22, 1927.
