Oxford, Massachusetts – February 27, 1983
On the afternoon of February 27, 1983, two men in a single-engine airplane were making a landing at Oxford Airport when the pilot aborted the approach due to another aircraft suddenly appearing on the runway. (The Oxford Airport was an “uncontrolled field”.)
As the pilot was making his “go around” the engine suddenly began to sputter and then stopped all together. Realizing he couldn’t make the runway, he opted to make an emergency landing in an adjacent cornfield. As he was approaching the field, the aircraft clipped a set of power lines causing it to crash nose first in the snow covered field. The plane then skidded about 50 feet through the field before coming to rest.
The impact caused the wings to bend in such a way as to prevent the two men from exiting the plane. Witnesses ran forward and assisted the men to escape through the windshield. Both men were transported to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Source:
The Webster Times, (Ma.) “Pilot Gives Thanks For Help”, March 2, 1983.
