Naugatuck, Connecticut – August 13, 1946 

     Shortly before 11 a.m. on August 13, 1946, a 36-year-old pilot obtained a weather forecast at Barnes Airport in Westfield, Massachusetts, for his planned trip to New York.  The forecast called for “scattered clouds with visibility to 5,000 feet as far as Hartford” and reported a cloud ceiling of 2,000 feet all the way to New York.  The report made no mention of rain. 

     The pilot then took off in a two-seat Luscombe, (Reg. No. NC-71174),  bound for New York.  While in-route, he encountered unexpected severe rainy weather and and began circling the Naugatuck area, presumably looking for Bethany Airport.  Not finding it, he attempted to make an emergency landing in an open field behind the Peter Paul Candy Company in the town of Naugatuck.  Unfortunately the ground was soft and the tired dug into the mud causing the plane to abruptly stop and nose over.   

      The pilot was transported to St. Mary’s Hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.  

     Sources:

     Waterbury Democrat, “Plane Crashes In Borough Field; Injuries Prove Fatal To Pilot”, August 13, 1946. 

     Waterbury Democrat, “Crash Blamed On Forecast”, August 14, 1946.

     Waterbury Democrat, “Police Probe Plane Crash”, August 15, 1946.