Glastonbury, CT. – August 5, 1954

Glastonbury, CT. – August 5, 1954

 

F-86 Sabre – U.S. Air Force Photo

     On the afternoon of August 5, 1954, two F-86 Sabre jets were on a routing training flight over Massachusetts and Connecticut.  One aircraft was piloted by Flight Lieutenant James L. Dell of the Royal Air Force who was on exchange duty with the 60th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Westover Air Force Base to learn American tactics.  The other F-86 was piloted by Captain Leo C. Baca, USAF. 

     At about 3:00 p.m. that afternoon the two Sabres were back in the vicinity of Westover AFB ready to land, but due to severe weather, and other aircraft that were given priority, Baca and Dell were put in a holding pattern and told to circle. 

     By about 3:15 p.m. both jets were running low on fuel, and began heading for Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut.  As they were making their approach to Rentschler, Captain Baca’s jet ran out of fuel, but he was able to glide his plane in for a safe landing.  At about the same time Flight Lieutenant Dell’s aircraft also ran out of fuel while he was at an altitude of 10,000 feet.  As the aircraft began to fall he attempted to eject, but found he couldn’t jettison the canopy. He had to manually beat against the canopy to get it to release.  When the canopy cleared the aircraft, Dell jumped and deployed his chute.  His F-86 came down in a wooded area in south Glastonbury and exploded. The canopy landed in the back yard of George Hall, the town’s chief of police. 

     Flight Lieutenant Dell landed safely.    

     Source: The Springfield Union, “Pilot Chutes To Safety In Jet Crackup”, August 6, 1952    

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