Pelham, Massachusetts – July 20, 1968
A-4 Skyhawk
U.S. Navy Photo
On Friday, July 20, 1968, a flight of two navy A-4 Skyhawk aircraft took off from Cecil Field near Jacksonville, Florida, for a routine flight to Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee, Massachusetts. The flight was uneventful until the planes reached Massachusetts where they encountered fog and drizzle conditions. It was now after sunset and darkness had set in. At 9:45 PM, as the planes were making their approach to Westover, one of the aircraft, (Bu. No. 144881), piloted by Lieutenant Commander John F. Tylunas, 34, suddenly disappeared from radar. The other aircraft landed safely at Westover.
A search was instituted and the following morning the wreckage of Lt. Cmdr. Tylunas’ aircraft was spotted from the air to be in a wooded area on the east side of Junket Hill in the town of Pelham. His body was found still in the aircraft.
The air force had to bring in heavy equipment to create a road to the crash site in order to remove the wreckage.
Lt. Cmdr. Tylunas was from Meriden, Connecticut, and was assigned to the VA-831 attack squadron. He enlisted as a private in the Marine Corps in 1952, and was later promoted to 2nd lieutenant in 1955, and to 1st lieutenant two years later. In 1957 he entered flight training and flew Corsair aircraft in Cuba in 1960. He later resigned from the Marines and attended San Jose State College in California and graduated after only three-and-a-half years. In October of 1966 he took a job flying for Pan American Airlines. In January of 1968 he was called back into active service after the capture of the USS Pueblo by North Korea. He’s buried in Saint Boniface Cemetery in Meriden. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61759135/john-f-tylunas
Sources:
Belchertown Sentinel, “Navy A-4 Jet Hits Hill Near Quabbin Shore”, July 26, 1968. (with photos)
Unknown Paper -“Meriden Pilot Dies In Navy Jet Crash”, July 20, 1968 – source from VA-831 Skyhawk Association.
www.findagrave.com
The Journal, (Meriden) “Crash Kills City Pilot”, July 20, 1968, p1.
Unknown newspaper – “Jet Pilot’s Funeral Set For Wednesday” (Courtesy of the Meriden Public Library)
Unknown paper – “A Memorial To Tylunas” (courtesy of the Meriden Public Library)
