Nashua, New Hampshire – February 8, 1940
On the afternoon of February 8, 1940, a “six-passenger cabin-type” airplane left Boston Airport with a pilot and three passengers aboard. The flight was bound for Nashua, where the pilot expected to pick up his wife and return to Boston. While in route, the aircraft’s motor began to run erratically and the pilot began searching for a place to land. However, the problem then corrected itself, and the pilot continued towards the Nashua Municipal Airport. As the aircraft was making its approach the engine suddenly lost all power. Realizing he couldn’t make the airport, he retracted the wheels and made an emergency crash-landing on the Bullard Farm a short distance from the airport.
Upon hitting the ground the aircraft skidded across an open field taking down several small trees and crashing into a stone wall. There was no fire afterward. Witnesses to the crash, which included the pilot’s wife, raced to the scene. The pilot and one of the passengers suffered serious head injuries, from which it was believed they would recover from. The other two passengers where only slightly hurt.
The cause of the crash was presumed to be carburetor icing.
Source:
The Nashua Telegram, “Airplane Crash Blame Is Places Upon Carburetor”, February 9, 1940, page 1.
