Middlebury, CT. – August 15, 1946

Middlebury, Connecticut – August 15, 1946

     On August 15, 1946, a 21-year-old pilot took off from Memphis, Tenn., in an army surplus AT-17 Cessna, twin-engine, trainer aircraft, bound for Watertown, Connecticut.  The pilot had just purchased the plane, and was a former U. S. Army Air Force flight officer, and current manager of the Watertown Airport.  

     He arrived at Watertown safely, and after a brief stay, decided to fly the plane to New Haven where it was scheduled to be overhauled.  While in route from Watertown one of the engines failed, and the pilot was forced to make a crash landing in a vacant field off Park Road in Middlebury.  The field was located on the former Atwood Farm. 

     Although the aircraft suffered considerable damage, the pilot was not injured. 

     Source:

     Waterbury Democrat, “City Pilot Crash-Lands New Plane On Farm Lot”, August 16, 1946    

Middlebury, CT. – January 11, 1975

Middlebury, Connecticut – January 11, 1975 

     At 9:20 a.m. on the morning of January 11, 1975, a 52-year-old man took off from Meriden-Wallingford Airport in a single-engine Cessna 210.  His destination was Waterbury-Oxford Airport.  While in-route the aircraft encountered low overcast conditions with low visibility.  At about 9:45 a.m., as the aircraft was making its final approach to land, it struck some tree tops before crashing into a cornfield in a residential area of Middlebury.  The pilot was killed instantly.

     Sources:

     Hartford Courant, “Man Killed As Plane Crashes In Field”, January 12, 1975      

     Westerly Sun, (R.I.), “Second Pilot Dies In Conn. Crash”, January 12, 1975, page 9. 

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