Dorchester, NH – December 24, 1996

Dorchester, New Hampshire – December 24, 1996

     On the morning of December 24, 1996, a Learjet 35-A  (N388LS) was in-route from Bridgeport, Connecticut, to Lebanon Municipal Airport in New Hampshire with two men in their 30s aboard.  As the aircraft was making its approach to the airport the pilot aborted the landing and circled around for a second try.  Shortly afterward all contact was lost and the plane vanished.  There had been no distress call.

     What came next was the longest search for a missing aircraft in the state’s history, lasting nearly three years.  It was assumed the plane had crashed, and thousands of volunteers turned out to search, but nothing was found.  (The aircraft did not have an emergency locator transmitter aboard.)  Dedicated volunteers continued to scour the wilderness long after the search had officially been called off. 

     The Learjet’s wreckage was finally located near Smarts Mountain on November 13, 1999, roughly 20 miles from the airport.  The plane had disintegrated on impact spreading debris over a large area which was one reason it was so hard to locate.  

     Source:

     Baltimore Sun, “Mystery Of Learjet Finally Reveals Itself”, December 12, 1999, By Ernest Imhoff.

Boston, MA – June 26, 1987

Boston, Massachusetts – June 26, 1987

     On June 26, 1987, a twin-engine Piper Senica was approaching Logan Airport in heavy fog conditions when it crashed three miles short of the runway in a Boston residential neighborhood.  Although the pilot never radioed he was having a problem with the aircraft, one witness told reporters that he heard the engine sputtering before the crash.

     The aircraft struck a three-story home on Lonsdale Street in the city’s Dorchester section and exploded.  The resulting fire spread to three homes, and burned several cars.  The 21-year-old pilot was killed, and three people on the ground suffered burns, one critically.

     Source:

     New York Times, “Airplane Plunges Into Boston Home”, June 27, 1987

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