Falmouth, Massachusetts – May 16, 1987

     On the afternoon of May 16, 1987, a husband and wife took off from Hyannis Airport in a 1978 Piper Arrow III bound for New Haven, Connecticut.  When the plane was about two miles south of Falmouth Harbor an oil seal in the propeller blew spraying the windshield with oil, after which the plane became hard to control.  The couple radioed Otis Air National Guard base and declared an emergency, and were directed to attempt an emergency landing at Falmouth Airport even though it was currently closed for construction and repairs. 

     As the plane approached the closed airport a gasket blew in the engine compartment causing the plane to crash in a wooded area to the south of Cross Road near Mill Pond less than 200 yards from a residential area.  Although the plane was completely wrecked, the couple survived with minor injuries.   

     Source:

     The Falmouth Enterprise, “Oil Leak Is Cause Of Airplane Crash In East Falmouth”, May 18, 1987, page 3. 

Falmouth, Massachusetts – July 15, 1951

     On the afternoon of July 15, 1951 two men took off from Coonamessett Airport in Falmouth in a Luscombe trainer aircraft.  As they were flying at an altitude of about 550 feet the engine suddenly stopped.  The pilot attempted to glide the plane in for an emergency landing in an open area behind St. Anthony’s Church in East Falmouth, but couldn’t make it.  The plane crashed into a grove of pine trees about 1,000 feet southeast of the church.  The plane was severely damaged, but the two men escaped without injury. 

     Coonamessett Airport no longer exists, and the land it once occupied is now part of the Frances A. Crane Wildlife Management Area.      

     Source:

     The Falmouth Enterprise, “Two Are Unhurt As Plane Crashes In East Falmouth”, July 20, 1951, page 1-B.    

Falmouth, Massachusetts – August 6, 1964

      At 12:45 A.M. on the morning of August 6, 1964, a twin-engine Piper Aztec with two men aboard left Boston bound for Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard.  The pilot was a 38-year-old man from Medfield, Massachusetts, and the passenger was a 21-year-old man from Chappaquiddick, an island next to Edgartown. 

     At 1:58 A.M., while passing over the town of Falmouth, the aircraft crashed in the Hatchville section of town about a quarter mile west of Sandwich Road and south of Deepwood Road. 

      A local resident later told investigators that he’d heard the plane’s motor sputtering prior to hearing a crash and immediately  called the police to report the incident.  It took police and firemen about a half hour to locate and reach the wreckage at which time they found both occupants deceased. 

     Source:

     Falmouth Enterprise, “Foster L. Silva Dies In Crash Of Plane”, August 7, 1964