Ridgefield, Connecticut – June 10, 1973
At approximately 1:30 a.m. on June 10, 1973, a Piper Cherokee 140 aircraft with four people aboard left Danbury Airport bound for MacArthur Field in Islip, New York. Shortly after takeoff the plane crashed in a thickly wooded area of the Pine Mountain section of Ridgefield. The plane was heavily damaged, but there was no fire. (Ridgefield is a town that borders Danbury to the south.)
The four occupants of the plane, all from Long Island, New York, survived the crash and spent the night with the aircraft, and at first light began hiking back to the airport.
Source:
Providence Journal, “Plane Crashes In Connecticut After Takeoff”, June 11, 1973, page 21.