Greenwich, CT. – January 6, 1946

March 14, 2026

Greenwich, Connecticut – January 6, 1946

     On January 6, 1946, a young husband and wife rented a small dual-controlled airplane at Westchester Airport in Rye, New York, and flew towards Connecticut.  About 30 minutes later, as the plane was passing over the Greenwich area, it began to drop in latitude.  It came in low to an open field where it brushed a tree and crash landed near the Banksville Community House.   The plane was seriously damaged but the couple received only minor injuries.  

     When police arrived they told officers that they each thought the other was at the controls. The wife held a commercial pilot’s license, and the husband was a former army pilot.  They had been taking turns flying the plane. 

     Source:

     Providence, Journal, “Couple In Light Plane Crash As Each Thinks Other Is At Controls”, January 7, 1946, pg. 2. 

Filed Under: Connecticut – Civil Tagged With:

Greenwich, CT. – August 2, 1929

March 5, 2026

Greenwich, Connecticut – August 2, 1929

     On August 2, 1929, a Stearman monoplane with three men aboard took off from Armonk, New York, bound Greenwich, Connecticut.  As the plane was preparing to land, it went into a left bank while at an altitude of about 2,500 feet.  According to witnesses, the plane then suddenly turned nose down and went into a spin from which it did not recover.  It crashed on the Sterling Estate, and all three men perished. 

     The plane was owned by Barret Airways.    

     Source: Providence Journal, “Three Men Killed In Plane Crash”, August 3, 1929

Filed Under: Connecticut – Civil Tagged With: , ,

Greenwich, CT. – February 1, 1957

February 21, 2024

Greenwich, Connecticut – February 1, 1957

     On the night of February 1, 1957, a 55-year-old man was piloting a Piper Cub airplane from Providence, Rhode Island, to Teeterboro, New Jersey.  While passing over Connecticut he encountered severe snowy weather and was forced to make an emergency landing on the Merritt Parkway near the Greenwich toll station.  The plane crash landed and a wing broke loose after striking a tree.  Despite the damage to the aircraft, the pilot was not hurt, nor were any motorists on the parkway.  Traffic, however, was tied up for hours.  

     Source:

     Fall River Herald News, (Ma.), “Plane Blocks Busy Road”, February 2, 1957, pg. 9.

Filed Under: Connecticut – Civil Tagged With: ,

Greenwich, CT. – August 20, 1910

March 1, 2021

Greenwich, Connecticut – August 20, 1910

 

Harmon Wreck, Greenwich, Connecticut, 1910

     At 6:35 p.m. on the evening of August 20, 1910, famous aviator Clifford B. Harmon took off from Garden City, Long Island, N.Y.,  in his Farman bi-plane, and flew across Long Island Sound to Greenwich, Connecticut, where he landed at 7:05 p.m. in a grassy field near Sandy Beach and Indian Harbor where his father-in-law lived.  Upon landing, the aircraft skids struck rocks hidden by the grass causing the airplane to wreck and suffer serious damage.  Harmon was shaken but otherwise uninjured. 

     As word of the accident spread, sightseers converged on the area, and a guard was employed to watch over the aircraft until morning.  Despite the watchman, souvenir hunters managed to remove items from the plane before morning.    

     The following day the aircraft was disassembled and brought back to Long Island by the oyster boat Samuel Chard.  

     This was the first successful heavier-than-air flight in history to cross Long Island Sound.  Harmon had made several previous attempts to cross the Sound without success.  For completing the flight Harmon was awarded a $2,000 cup provided by the Doubleday Page Co. 

     Sources: 

     New York Tribune, “Benedict Proud Of Harmon”, August 22, 1901, page 3. 

     Norwich Bulletin, “Aeroplane trip Over The Sound”, August 22, 1910.

 

Filed Under: Connecticut – Civil Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Greenwich, CT. – July 21, 1945

June 14, 2019

Greenwich, Connecticut – July 21, 1945

 

North American Texan Military Trainer
Author Photo

     At about 3:30 p.m., on the afternoon of July 21, 1945, a navy SNJ-5 Texan trainer aircraft, (Bu. No. 90720), with two men aboard left the Quonset Point Naval Air Station in Rhode Island for a training flight over Connecticut. About an hour later, while over Greenwich, Connecticut, the aircraft experienced problems with the engine’s fuel flow and began losing altitude.  The pilot made a crash-landing on a golf course.  The crew suffered non-life-threatening-injuries and the aircraft was heavily damaged.    

     Source:

     U. S. Navy accident report dated July 21, 1945. 

Filed Under: Connecticut - Military Tagged With: , , , , ,

Greenwich, CT – November 8, 1957

September 29, 2015

Greenwich, Connecticut – November 8, 1957

    

DC-3 Airliner

DC-3 Airliner

     Shortly before 7:30 p.m. on November 8, 1957, a DC-3 aircraft owned by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) was approaching Westchester County Airport in heavy rain in anticipation of landing.  Visibility was poor, and cross winds buffeted the aircraft. 

     Westchester County Airport is located in White Plains, New York, almost directly on the New York- Connecticut state line.  Just as the aircraft was about to land, a gust of wind pushed it off course, sending it over Hangar D and crashing onto King Street (AKA Route 120A) in the town of Greenwich. 

     The aircraft was a total loss, but fortunately all four persons aboard suffered only minor injuries.   (Pilot, co-pilot, and two passengers, both of which were top executives for RCA.)

     Source:

   New York Times, “Wind-Buffeted DC-3 Falls In Greenwich”, November 9, 1957

Filed Under: Connecticut – Civil Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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