Smithfield, Rhode Island – March 8, 1990
On the afternoon of March 8, 1990, five friends from Providence College met at North Central State Airport in Smithfield to go flying. One of the group, Scott H. Lyons, 20, had a pilots license, and had been certified the day before for carrying passengers.
Lyons rented a two-seat Piper Tomahawk (N2603G) and took off around 1:00 p.m. with one passenger, his college roommate, Gregory D. Aucoin, 20, while the other three members of their group waited at the airport for their turn.
Shortly after takeoff, when the plane was about five miles from the airport, the engine began to sputter. Two Smithfield Highway Department workers cutting brush in the area heard the sputtering and witnessed the plane go down.
The plane crashed in a wooded area of the Judson Farm at the end of Williams Road. It didn’t burn on impact, but both men aboard were killed.
Sources:
Providence Journal, “Plane Goes Down In Smithfield Woods”, March 9, 1990 Pg. 1A
Providence Journal, “PC Students’ Flight Ended Lives Full Of Promise”, March 10, 1990, Pg. A1
Journal Bulletin, “PC Roommates Die In Airplane Crash”, March 10, 1990, Pg. A1