Long Island Sound – May 18, 1953
On May 18, 1953, a pilot and two passengers left Long Island, New York, bound for Westerly, Rhode Island, in a twin-engine private plane. The two passengers, a mother and her adult son, were both prominent New Yorkers coming to Rhode Island to visit family. As the plane neared Rhode Island it ran into heavy fog, and the pilot was informed that the Westerly Airport was closed. The pilot then turned the plane around to seek an alternative airfield, and the plane disappeared, and was presumed to have gone down in Long Island Sound.
A subsequent search was made of Long Island sound, and the mother’s body was recovered.
Sources:
The Evening Star, (Washington, D. C.), “2 Prominent New Yorkers Aboard Missing Plane”, May 19, 1953.
The Berkshire County Eagle, (Mass.), “Mother’s Body Found After Crash; Son, Pilot Missing”, May 20, 1953, pg. 1. (This article submitted by Eric Wiberg, author and historian.)
The Smithtown News, (N. Y.), “Bernard Peyton, Jr., Services Friday”, May 21, 1953, pg. 1
