Sandwich, Massachusetts – August 29, 1961
RB-57F. The U.S. Version of the English Electric Canberra. U.S. Air Force Photo.
On August 29, 1961, Major Harold D. LaRoche, 27, took off from Otis Air Force Base in Falmouth, Massachusetts, in a Martin B-57 Canberra en-route to Andrews Air Force base in Virginia. (He was the only person aboard.)
Shortly after take off LaRoche radioed Otis tower that he had an emergency and turned back towards the base. On his approach he crashed in the Forestdale section in the town of Sandwich, Massachusetts. The plane exploded and the major was killed.
Major LaRoche was assigned to Ent Air Force base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and had been on a cross-country flight.
Source:
Falmouth Enterprise, (Photo) “Wreckage Of Bomber Which Crashed In Forrestdale”, September 1, 1961
