Mendon Airport History | New England Aviation History

Mendon, MA. – September 13, 1931

December 2, 2025

Mendon, Massachusetts – September 13, 1931

On September 13, 1931, there was a two-day air meet in progress at the Mendon Airport. Part of the meet included airplane rides. That afternoon, the engine of a Travelair biplane, with a pilot and two passengers aboard, suddenly caught fire while warming up in preparation for take off. Fortunately everyone escaped without injury, but the plane, valued at $7,000, was destroyed.

Source:

Woonsocket Call, “Plane At Mendon Ruined By Flames”, September 14, 1931.

Mendon, MA. – August 14, 1931

January 16, 2023

Mendon, Massachusetts – August 14, 1931

On August 14, 1931, two 23-year-old women arrived at the Mendon Airport to take their first airplane ride. They were friends with the airport’s chief pilot who’d offered to take them on a sight seeing flight.

The aircraft they would be flying in was a new bi-plane.

The plane took off, but when it reached an altitude of about 750 feet the engine died and it spun to the ground and crashed in a wooded area about a mile from the airport. Among those who’d witnessed the crash was Mendon’s police chief, Arthur Brown.

The pilot and both passengers were transported to Milford Hospital with serious injuries. Within hours both women succumbed to their injuries. The pilot, although seriously injured, was expected to survive.

Sources:

Woonsocket Call, “2 Women lose Lives In Mendon Airplane Crash”, August 15, 1929.

The Evening Star, (Washington, D.C.), “Air Crash Kills Woman”, August 15, 1931.

The Waterbury Democrat, (Ct.), “Two Women Died When Plane Was Crashed Down”, August 15, 1931