Harwich, Massachusetts – November 24, 1944
Shortly after 8:00 a.m. on the morning of November 24, 1944, Ensign R. N. Kelly of Philadelphia, Penn., was piloting a single engine aircraft 20,000 feet over Cape Cod when the engine suddenly caught fire. Knowing he was over a populated area, he stayed with the aircraft until he was able to direct it towards a wooded area, and then bailed out at 3,000 feet. The plane crashed in the woods near Bassett’s Pond and exploded. Nobody on the ground was injured. Ensign Kelly sprained his ankle upon landing, but suffered no serious injury.
The type of aircraft was not stated.
Ensign Kelly had taken off from Otis Field in Falmouth, Massachusetts.
Source: Cape Cod Standard Times, “Navy Plane falls At North Harwich”, November 24, 1944, page 1