Mendon, Massachusetts – August 14, 1931
On August 14, 1931, two 23-year-old women arrived at the Mendon Airport to take their first airplane ride. They were friends with the airport’s chief pilot who’d offered to take them on a sight seeing flight.
The aircraft they would be flying in was a new bi-plane.
The plane took off, but when it reached an altitude of about 750 feet the engine died and it spun to the ground and crashed in a wooded area about a mile from the airport. Among those who’d witnessed the crash was Mendon’s police chief, Arthur Brown.
The pilot and both passengers were transported to Milford Hospital with serious injuries. Within hours both women succumbed to their injuries. The pilot, although seriously injured, was expected to survive.
Sources:
Woonsocket Call, “2 Women lose Lives In Mendon Airplane Crash”, August 15, 1929.
The Evening Star, (Washington, D.C.), “Air Crash Kills Woman”, August 15, 1931.
The Waterbury Democrat, (Ct.), “Two Women Died When Plane Was Crashed Down”, August 15, 1931
