Long Island Sound – August 28, 1935

Long Island Sound – August 28, 1935

     On the morning of August 28, 1935, Donald K. Phillips, 23, of Providence, Rhode Island, took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island, New York, bound for Providence.  From there he planned to fly to Ohio for the Cleveland air races. 

      The aircraft he was piloting was a Stimson monoplane, and he was alone on board.  When he never arrived in Providence a large scale search was initiated.   

     Coast Guard vessels patrolled along the New England Coast from Connecticut to Salem, Massachusetts, but found nothing. 

     One man reported to the Danielson barracks of the Connecticut State Police that on the 28th he’d seen a low flying plane that appeared to be in trouble flying over the area of East Putnam.  The report was verified by several others, but descriptions of the airplane varied.  Police and volunteers searched the area, even searching from the air in a private airplane, but nothing was found. 

     The search was called off after a week as it was surmised by authorities that Phillips’ plane had most likely gone down in Long Island Sound.

     To date, no trace of him or his airplane was ever found. 

     Sources:

     Waterbury Democrat, “No Clue About Missing Flyer”, August 30, 1935. 

     Evening Star, (Washington, D.C.), “End Search For Flyer”, September 2, 1935

     Windham County Observer, “Missing Aviator Reported Seen In Area Near City”, September  4, 1935.

 

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