Burlington, Vermont – November 26, 1943
U.S. Army A-29 Attack Bomber – U.S. Air Force Photo
This accident involved a military airplane manned by a civilian crew. The reason for a civilian crew is unclear.
On November 26, 1943, a twin-engine Lockheed RA-29 Army Air Force aircraft, (Ser. No. 41-23335), with three men aboard, took off from Boston for what was to be a test flight of the aircraft’s service ceiling. The aircraft climbed to 24,000 feet and maintained that altitude until the pilot reported that the port engine had lost all power and requested an emergency landing at Burlington Airport in Burlington, Vermont. The plane crashed and burned one mile from the runway at Burlington, and all aboard perished.
The crew were:
Pilot: Harry Babcock Brown, (31). He’s buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts.
Co-pilot: Harry T. Nordbeck. (Info unknown.)
Engineer: James Vaught Dotson, (29). He’s buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Nashville, Tenn.
Sources:
Book: “Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents In The United States, 1941-1945”, by Anthony J. Mireles, C. 2006.
www.findagrave.com
The Boston Globe, “Army Air Force Plane Crash”, November 26, 1943, pg. 19
