Barnstable, MA. – June 23, 1945

Barnstable, Massachusetts – June 23, 1945 

(And Truro, Mass. )

 

Early U.S. Navy Helldiver
U.S. Navy Photo

     On the morning of June 23, 1945, a flight of six navy SBW Helldiver aircraft were in a “tail-chase” formation 3,000 feet over the town of Truro, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod.  One aircraft, (Bu. No. 60112), was flying in the third position, and Bu. No. 60142 was following it in the fourth position about 400 feet behind.  When the formation entered a climbing turn, the third aircraft unexpectedly flipped over onto its back and began to fall.  The pilot of the fourth aircraft tried to avoid a collision but was unsuccessful.   

     The right wing of the fourth aircraft was sheared off about six feet from the tip. The pilot attempted to maintain control but was unable to, so he climbed to 4,000 feet and gave the order to his gunner to bail out.  Both men reported having trouble getting clear of the cockpit before jumping.  The aircraft crashed in Barnstable Harbor.  The pilot and his gunner also came down in the water and were rescued by fishermen.   Both suffered non-life-threatening injuries. 

     Meanwhile, the pilot of the other aircraft found his controls frozen after the collision and ordered his gunner, ARM3c Kenneth E. Kubik, (19), to bail out.  The pilot later reported that he too had difficulty leaving the aircraft, but he landed safely with non-life-threatening injuries.  ARM3c Kubik was unable to leave the aircraft and was killed when it crashed and exploded one mile northeast of Truro. 

     ARM3c Kubik was from Caldwell, Kansas, and assigned to VT-74.

     Source: U. S. Navy accident report  dated June 23, 1945   

Barnstable, MA. – June 6, 1976

Barnstable, MA. – June 6, 1976

     On the morning of June 6, 1976, two off-duty Massachusetts police officers left Tewksbury in a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza bound for Hyannis to attend a breakfast for the Massachusetts Association of Police Pilots.  One officer was a member of the Wilmington Police, and the other the Malden Police.  At about 12:30 p.m., the pair took off from Hyannis to return to Tewksbury.  Just after takeoff the plane was seen diving to the ground where it crashed off Marston’s Lane in the Cummiquid section of Barnstable.  Both men were killed.  The cause of the accident was not stated.

     Source:

     Providence Evening Bulletin, “Two Pilot Policemen Killed In Plane Crash”, June 7, 1976, page B-10

Hyannis, MA. – September 6, 1975

Hyannis, Massachusetts – September 6, 1975

     On the evening of  September 6, 1975, a civilian twin-engine Beechcraft was making its landing approach to Barnstable Municipal Airport when the aircraft struck a lighted instrument tower near the end of a runway and crashed in a parking lot several hundred yards away on Willow Street.  The plane exploded on impact and all three persons aboard were killed.  At the time of the accident, weather conditions were poor, and the pilot was attempting an instrument lending.   

     Sources:

     Boston Sunday Herald Advertiser,”3 Die In cape Plane Crash”, September 7, 1975, Section 2, page 25

     Boston Globe, “New England News In Brief-Cape Crash”, September 8, 1975, page 4

     Westerly Sun, (RI), Three Are Killed In Plane Crash”, September 8, 1975, page 3

     The South Middlesex News, photo and caption, September 7, 1975, page 14A

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