Mansfield, Massachusetts – September 1, 1929
On the afternoon of September 1, 1929, a 36-year-old pilot took off from Boltz Airport in Mansfield, (Today known as Mansfield Airport), in a Great Lake airplane powered by a 90 horsepower British Cirrus motor. His intention was to take the plane on a solo test flight before returning to the airport to give a plane ride to two friends. When the plane had reached an altitude of about 100 feet, it was seen to bank sharply into the wind before going into a tailspin and crashing to the ground. Upon impact it burst into flames and the pilot perished.
The pilot was a World War I veteran and local businessman who’d been a pilot since the early spring.
It was believed that the accident occurred because the controls of the aircraft had frozen.
Source:
The Attleboro Sun, (Ma.), “Mansfield Pilot Is Killed In Smash”, September 3, 1929
