East Hartford History | New England Aviation History

East Hartford, CT. – February 28, 1960

June 21, 2018

East Hartford, Connecticut – February 28, 1960

On February 28, 1960, 1st Lt. John K. Rude, Jr., 24, was piloting a National Guard helicopter over the East Hartford area when the aircraft suddenly developed engine trouble. With little time to react, Lt. Rude set the helicopter down in a cemetery located in a crowded residential area. Upon making the emergency landing the rotor blades were seriously damaged when they lopped off the top of a tall monument. There were no injuries, and Lt. Rude was praised for his handling of the emergency situation and avoiding nearby homes.

The helicopter had been in the air for a couple of hours on a routine training flight out of Brainard Field when the trouble developed. Damage was estimated to be $15,000.

Source:

New London Day, “Waterford Pilot Safely Lands Disabled ‘Copter”, February 29, 1960

Rentschler Field – May 3, 1944

May 28, 2018

Rentschler Field, East Hartford, Connecticut – May 3, 1944

Updated February 2, 2022.

B-24 Liberator
U.S. Air Force Photo

On the night of May 3, 1944, a B-24 Liberator with a crew of eleven men aboard, took off from Westover Field in Chicopee, Massachusetts, for a night cross-country navigation training flight.

While over New York, the number three engine lost power so the pilot turned the plane back towards Westover. Before long another engine lost power and the plane was rapidly loosing altitude, so the pilot decided to make an emergency landing at Rentschler Field. Then it was discovered that there was a problem with the landing gear. The nose wheel had to be cranked down manually, but it couldn’t be locked in place.

The plane landed on the main wheels with the nose kept high, but when the nose wheel touched down it collapsed and the front of the aircraft hit the ground and was crushed as the nose dug in, killing the pilot, 2nd Lt. John W. Garrett, age 19, and injuring four members of the crew. The other six escaped without injury.

Lt. Garrett is buried in Green Mountain Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. To see a photograph of Lt. Garrett click here: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/114672261/john-work-garrett

Sources:

Springfield Union, “Westover Pilot Is Killed In East Hartford Crash”, May 4, 1944

www.findagrave.com

Book, “Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents In The United States, 1941-1954”, by Anthony J. Mireles, C. 2006.