Near Glastonbury, Connecticut – November 5, 1954
At approximately 6:45 p.m., a twin-engine Lockheed Lodestar, (N9201H), departed New York’s La Guardia Airport bound for Boston’s Logan Airport. There were five people aboard, a pilot, co-pilot, and three passengers.
When the aircraft was about 12 miles southeast of Hartford, Connecticut, the right engine began to back fire and skip. Unable to correct the problem, the pilot feathered the propeller and was granted permission for an emergency landing at Bradley Field in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.
The aircraft made a wide turn over the area of Willamantic, Connecticut, and was making its way towards Bradly Field it crashed in a wooded area and broke apart. Some portions of the fuselage caught fire after the crash.
The Civil Aeronautics Board Accident Investigation Report locates the crash site as “approximately 9 miles south-southeast of Glastonbury, Connecticut, and approximately 25 miles south-southeast of Bradley Field”.
At least one newspaper article places the crash site in an alfalfa field in Glastonbury.
The pilot, co-pilot, and one passenger were thrown clear of the wreckage. The other two passengers were trapped inside, and had to break the window of the jammed emergency exit door to escape.
The co-pilot, Whitney H. Welch, 24, received fatal injuries.
The aircraft belonged to the owner of the Boston Post newspaper.
Sources:
Civil Aeronautics Board Accident Investigation Report, file #2-0046, adopted May 3, 1955, released May 6, 1955.
Lewiston Evening Journal, “Boston Post’s Plane Crashes, Burns”, November 6, 1954