Dorchester Bay, Massachusetts – September 2, 1911
On the morning of September 2, 1911, Joseph S. Cummings took off from Squantum Field in Quincy, Mass., for a flight in his Bleriot monoplane. As he was flying over Dorchester Bay, he crashed into the water from an altitude of 500 feet. (Another source puts the altitude at 300 feet.) Fortunately he was quickly recued with only minor injuries by the crew of the Coast Guard cutter Gresham.
One source blamed the cause of the accident as being sun glare off the water that temporarily blinded him, while another source blamed engine failure when a cylinder head “blew out”.
The New York Times termed it “the first accident in the two years of aviation at Squantum.”
Sources;
The Tacoma Times, (Washington), “Falls Into Sea; Lives”, September 2, 1911
New York Times “Airman Falls In Bay”, September 3, 1911
Evening Star, (Washington D.C.) “Revenue Cutter Service”, September 11, 1911