Dexter, Maine – July 4, 1925

     On July 4, 1925, two young men took off in a dual-tandem cockpit airplane from a field behind the home of the Tuttle family. (The make of the aircraft is unknown.)  The plane could be controlled/flown from either cockpit.  The aircraft rose as the wives of the two men looked on.  The intention had been to fly over a nearby town where a July 4th celebration was taking place.  Once airborne, the aircraft began to make a wide circle while at an altitude of 40 feet.  As it was doing so, it suddenly went into a dive and crashed near the home of Alvin Cole.  The pilot survived, but the passenger was killed instantly. 

     It was reported that the crash was “…believed to be the first airplane fatality in Maine…”   

     Later that same month, the pilot was arrested and charged with manslaughter because it was learned that he didn’t have a pilot’s license or a permit to carry passengers.  He was released on $5,000 bail.  The outcome of the case is unknown.   

     Daily Kennebec Journal, “Amateur Aviator Killed At Dexter”, July 6, 1925, pg. 9.  (The headline was wrong, it was the passenger who was killed, not the pilot.) 

     Daily Kennebec Journal, “Killed When Plane Crashes To Ground”, July 7, 1925, pg. 6.

     Daily Kennebec Journal, “Aircraft Pilot Held Under Bonds For Manslaughter”, July 18, 1925