Harrisville, New Hampshire – September 7, 1939

     On the night of September 7, 1939, a Stinson airplane crashed in the woods of Harrisville, New Hampshire, killing the pilot George A. Thorne Jr., 37, of Chicago.  The subsequent fire burned several acres of woodland.  Investigators were unable to determine the cause of the crash.

     Thorne had been a member of the Admiral Byrd Expedition to the Antarctic in 1928, where he served as a geologist, surveyor, and dog-team driver.  At the time of his death he was preparing to  accompany Byrd on another expedition to the South Pole in the not too distant future.     

Sources:

New York Times, “G.A. Thorne Jr. Dies In Airplane Crash”, September 8, 1939

Evening Bulletin, (RI), “Byrd Aide Killed In Plane Crash”, September 8, 1939, pg. 38.