Bath, Maine – May 20, 1963

     On the night of May 20, 1963, a family of three was aboard a small airplane heading from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, to Portland, Maine, when they encountered a severe thunderstorm over the Bath area.  (Wind speeds were reported to be 66 miles-per-hour.)

     The plane crashed through the roof of the boiler room at the Bath Iron Works and slammed against a wall killing the occupants.  There were two men working in the building at the time of the accident but neither was injured. 

     A shipyard official told a reporter that if the plane had been five feet higher in altitude it would likely have cleared the building and crashed into the side of a frigate ship that was under construction.

     Source:

     Evening Bulletin ,(RI), “Plane Crash Kills Mass. Family”, May 21, 1963, pg. 6.