Hartford, Connecticut – October 9, 1942
U.S. Navy SBD Dauntless
U.S. Navy Photo.
On October 9, 1942, a civilian test pilot and a civilian observer took off from Hartford Airport in a Douglas SBD-2 Dauntless, (Bu. No. 2187). The purpose of the flight was to test the performance of a newly installed propeller. As the pilot was making a power-climb to 12,000 feet smoke and oil began coming from the engine. The pilot made a rapid descent towards the airfield but lost power and crash-landed short of the runway causing extensive damage to the aircraft. The pilot, and the observer were not injured.
Source: U. S. Navy accident report dated October 9, 1942
