North Central State Airport – April 21, 1986

May 19, 2015

North Central State Airport – April 21, 1986

Smithfield, Rhode Island

     At 12:30 p.m. on April 21, 1986, a Cessna 310 (N128K), left Willow Run Airport in Michigan bound for North Central Airport in Smithfield, R.I., to make a delivery for a company located in North Smithfield.  

     At 3:28 p.m. the pilot took off for his return flight, and according to witnesses, circled the airport area twice before suddenly diving nose-first onto a rocky outcrop about 600 feet from the north-south runway.  The plane exploded on impact killing the 23-year-old pilot. 

     One witness from a business located on Albion Road told a Woonsocket Call reporter, “It made a low pass over our shop the first time it came by.  The engines sounded okay.  I just thought the pilot was disoriented.  When it came by low again the second time, it was flipped over on it side, and when it went over the fence (separating Albion Road from the airport) it was completely flipped over and no where near where it should have been approaching from.”

     Sources:

     Woonsocket Call, “Michigan Pilot Killed In Fiery No. Central Crash”, April 22, 1986 

     NTSB report NYC86FA112, microfiche # 32967    

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Civil Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Block Island Sound, R.I. – July 13, 1944

June 8, 2015

Block Island Sound, Rhode Island – July 13, 1944

5 miles off Charlestown, R.I.

U.S. Navy F6F Hellcat U.S. Navy photo

U.S. Navy F6F Hellcat
U.S. Navy photo

     Ensign Gerald Vivian Brosteaux, 20, was killed during a night training flight July 13, 1944 when the F6F-3 Hellcat, (Bu. No. #42254), he was piloting crashed in the water five miles off Charlestown, Rhode Island.  At the time of the accident he was participating in night carrier practice landings.  The night was relatively dark with no moon and no visible horizon.

     Ensign Brosteaux was assigned to Night Fighter Squadron 102, (VFN-102), at Quonset Point Naval Air Station in North Kingstown, Rhode Island.  He’s buried in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego OSA Site 25-A.  To see a photo of him, click on the link below.  

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/67092141/gerald-vivian-brosteaux

     Sources:

     North Kingstown, Rhode Island, death records

     U. S. Navy accident report dated July 13, 1944

     Findagrave.com #67092141   

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Quonset Point NAS – April 6, 1945

June 7, 2015

Quonset Point Naval Air Station – April 6, 1945

North Kingstown, Rhode Island

    

U.S. Navy TBM Avengers National Archives Photo

U.S. Navy TBM Avengers
National Archives Photo

     On April 6, 1945, two TBM Avengers assigned to Night Torpedo Squadron 55 at Quonset Point, were taking off at the same time for a night training mission when they collided at the intersection of runways 19 and 28. 

     Lt. Jg. John Frederick Kalb, 25, of West Helena, Arkansas, in aircraft #46123, was killed.

     Lt. Jg. W. F. Leeker in aircraft #16885, was seriously injured, but survived.  

     Night Torpedo Squadron 55 was commissioned at Quonset Point NAS on March 1, 1945.  The squadron’s first fatal accident occurred not long afterwards on March 9, 1945, when Lt. Jg. Harold Boren was killed when his plane crashed in Westerly, Rhode Island, during an instrument training flight. 

     For more information about Night Torpedo Squadron 55 see the website;  vtn55.org 

     Sources:

     North Kingstown, Rhode Island, death records #45-30 

     Night Torpedo Squadron 55 history        

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

North Kingstown, R.I. – April 22, 1944

May 5, 2015

North Kingstown, Rhode Island – April 22, 1944

Updated July 7, 2017

    

Hellcat Fighters
U.S. Navy Photo

     On the afternoon of Saturday, April 22, 1944, two F6F-3 Hellcats assigned to VF-7 at Quonset Point Naval Air Station, collided in mid-air over the Quonset Manor neighborhood of North Kingstown.  Both pilots were killed.

     One plane sheared the tail off the other while both planes were several hundred feet in the air. 

     One of the Hellcats, (Bu. No. 42706), piloted by Ensign Joseph Clyde Rust, 22, of Alliance, Nebraska, crashed on King Phillip Drive and exploded. 

     The other Hellcat, (Bu. No. 41965), piloted by Ensign Oswald Eugene Asplundh Jr., 21, of Glenview, Illinois, crashed and burned to the waterline in Sawmill Pond.    

     Update:  The accident occurred while a flight of three Hellcats was flying in a Vee formation at 4,000 feet.  The flight leader, flying at the point of the Vee, suddenly began to pull away from the formation, and Ensigns Rust and Asplundh attempted to follow, and that’s when the collision occurred.  

Source:

Providence Journal, “2 Planes Collide At Quonset Manor”, April 23, 1944, Pg. 1

The Standard, “Two Planes Crash At Quonset Manor”, April 27, 1944, Pg. 1

     U.S. Navy Accident Report 

    

 

 

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Westerly, R. I. – September 2, 1929

April 30, 2015

Westerly, R.I. – September 2, 1929

Updated November 26, 2022

     At 4:30 p.m. on the afternoon of September 2, 1929, a small airplane with a pilot and two women passengers aboard took off from Misquamicut Field, (Today known as Westerly Airport), for what was to be a sightseeing flight over the area.  Shortly after take off, while at an altitude of 75 to 100 feet, the engine began to skip.  The pilot attempted to remedy the situation by opening the throttle, but this didn’t correct the malfunction.  He then banked the aircraft with the intention of returning to the airfield.  Realizing he wouldn’t make it to the field, he aimed for Brightman’s Pond, a small salt water pond between Masquamicut Beach and the airfield.  Realizing that a crash was inevitable, the pilot undid his safety belt and called for the women to do the same.  The plane crashed short of the pond, coming down on Misquamicut Beach.  It landed on its left wing, and just as it did so the pilot jumped clear. The aircraft then spun around before coming to an abrupt stop.  Immediately afterwards the plane erupted in flames, and the two passengers perished.   

     According to witnesses, the pilot attempted to reach the plane but was driven back by the smoke and flames. 

     It was reported that the pilot admitted to state police investigators that he’d failed to turn off the ignition prior to the crash.    

      The dead were identified as Mrs. Marie A. Hunter, (31), of 3 Avery Street, Westfield, Massachusetts, and Miss Marie Day, (20), of 20 Colton Avenue, West Springfield, Massachusetts. No autopsies were performed. 

     The type of aircraft is unknown. 

     Sources:

     Woonsocket Call, “2 Women Die In Airplane Crash Near Westerly”, September 3, 1929

     Woonsocket Call, “Fatal Airplane Crash Probed”, September 4, 1929, Pg. 3.      

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Civil Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

North Kingstown, R.I. – May 18, 1957

April 25, 2015

North Kingstown, R.I. – May 18, 1957

Quonset Point NAS

      Saturday, May 18, 1957, was Armed Services Day at Quonset Point, Rhode Island, and as part of the day’s observance, the Navy was hosting an air show which included flight exhibitions by some of the newest aircraft.         

     Shortly before 2:30 that afternoon, an FJ-3 Fury piloted by Navy Lieutenant Raymond C. Shaw Jr. took off for what was to be another routine demonstration flight.  Once airborne, he circled over Narragansett Bay before coming in low over the runway and whizzing past the waving crowds.  Once clear of the runway, he pulled upwards to the north where he suddenly went into a spin and dropped from sight.  Almost immediately a distant boom was heard followed by a rising pall of black smoke a little more than a mile away. 

     The jet crashed at the Davisville Seabee Station just off Fletcher Road in North Kingstown.  After ripping through a clump of trees it plowed through a fence and onto the property of Elmer Norden where it exploded.  Debris was hurled in all directions for 400 yards, and nearby trees were impaled with flying shrapnel. 

     The Fury’s supercharger and other debris came down on the property of Ralph B. Armstrong who was working in his yard at the time, but he wasn’t injured.

     Firefighters from Quonset NAS and North Kingstown raced to the scene and put of the flames. Ironically, the base fire department was scheduled to give a fire fighting demonstration later in the day. 

     Navy investigators concluded the crash was due to the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer breaking loose during flight.  It was found about a mile short of the crash site along the path the aircraft had traveled.     

     Lieutenant Shaw, 27, was from Charlotte, North Carolina. He graduated Central High School in Charlotte, and went on to attend Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, and Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina.  After graduating in 1952, he enlisted in the Navy and became a pilot.  He worked hard and had recently been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant before the crash.

     Besides his parents, he was survived by his wife Rita and a 3-year-old son, Raymond III.  His funeral was held at Plaza Presbyterian Church in Charlotte.

     To see a photo of Lt. Shaw, click here: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/38687479/raymond-columbus-shaw

      The FJ-3 Fury was produced by North American Aviation as a Navy version of the Air Force’s F-86E Sabre, to be a carrier-borne fighter jet.   Production was halted in May of 1958 as newer and more technological advanced aircraft came into service.    

Sources:

The Providence Journal, “Quonset Navy Pilot Killed As Jet Fighter Crashes, Explodes in Davisville”, May 19, 1957, Pg. A1

The Charlotte Observer,  “Jet Explodes In Air, Killing Charlottean”, May 19, 1957, Pg. 1

The Charlotte Observer, “Shaw Funeral Here Thursday”,May 22, 1957, Page 5A

The Charlotte Observer, Funeral Notice, May 23, 1957, Pg. 11A

The Rhode Island Pendulum, Navy Seeking Aid In Determining Jet Crash Cause”, May 23, 1957, page 1 

 

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,
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