Quonset Point, R.I. – October 14, 1970

Quonset Point Naval Air Station, Rhode Island – October 14, 1970

     At 5:55 p.m. on October 14, 1970, a U.S. Navy Grumman S-2E Tracker, (Bu. No. 153), left Quonset Point for a routine training flight.  The S-2E was used by the navy in anti-submarine patrols, and this plane was attached to Antisubmarine Squadron 30.   

    The aircraft carried a crew of two men: the pilot, Lt. Cmdr. George H. Wigfall, 33, and Lt. (jg.) Richard J. Moriarty, 24. 

     Twenty five minutes into the flight, the crew realized that the landing gear was malfunctioning.  After alerting the Quonset tower of their situation, the base crash trucks were activated and began spraying foam over the runway.  Meanwhile the plane circled overhead until this was completed.   

     The aircraft made a wheels up belly landing and skidded for 2,300 feet along runway 16 causing extensive damage to the plane, but the crew was not injured.

     Source:

     Providence Journal, “Navy Antisub Plane Make Emergency Landing At Quonset”, October 15, 1970 

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