Newbury New Hampshire Plane Crash | New England Aviation History

Newbury, H. H. – June 30, 1951

January 3, 2026

Newbury, New Hampshire – June 30, 1951

Vaultee BT-13

At about noon time on June 30, 1951, two brothers took off from Boire Field in Nashua, New Hampshire, in a Vaultee , BT-13 aircraft. The single-engine plane was a former military basic trainer converted for civilian use. Both men were owners of a construction firm and were flying to the Newbury area to survey a scheduled worksite. Upon reaching the Newbury area the aircraft encountered thick fog and crashed into Blye Mountain about fifty feet from the summit.

Both men were seriously injured in the crash and were transported to a hospital where one passed away from his injuries on July 6.

Sources:

Nashua Telegraph, “Pelham Contractor Badly Hurt In Newbury Plane Crash”, July 2, 1951, pg. 1.

Aviation Safety Network

Newbury, N.H. – November 21, 1949

May 15, 2023

Newbury, New Hampshire – November 21, 1949

North American Texan Military Trainer
Author Photo

Much has been written and documented about this crash which can be found elsewhere on the Internet.

On November 20, 1949, 18-year-old Harvard freshman John M. Moses took off from Bridgeport, Connecticut, bound for Boston, in a military surplus AT-6 “Texan” trainer aircraft, which had been converted for civilian use and given the civil registration number of N66221. While in-route he encountered darkness and thick clouds and crashed near the summit of Mount Blood in Newbury, New Hampshire. (Some accounts have referred to the mountain as “Bald Mountain”, and “Sunapee Mountain”.)

Moses had bailed out of the aircraft prior to impact but the parachute didn’t deploy properly and he perished. The aircraft crashed and exploded, with the engine reportedly coming to rest fifty yards from the wreckage.

To see another newspaper article and Mr. Moses’ grave, click here: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/139370286/john-marshall-moses

Sources:

The Evening Star, (Wash. D.C.), “Harvard Flyer Found Dead, Parachute Half Opened”, November 21, 1949.

“Sunapee Mountain Plane Crash Remembered”, by William A. Murgatory, Jr., 2009.