Auburn, ME – August 25, 1985

Auburn, Maine – August 25, 1985

 

     At 3:30 p.m. on August 25, 1985, Bar Harbor Airlines Flight 1793, left Bangor, Maine, for Boston.  The aircraft was a Beech BE-99, (N300WP). 

     The flight was part of a regularly scheduled commuter route between Logan International Airport in Boston, and Bangor International Airport in Maine, with intermediate stops at Auburn, Augusta, and Waterville, Maine.

     Flight 1793 arrived safely at Boston, and flew back at Bangor arriving at 6:24 p.m., about twenty-five minutes behind schedule.  At this time, weather conditions along the flight route were deteriorating, and continued to do so, causing delays in arrival and departure times.  

     At 6:40 p.m., the aircraft once again took off from Bangor this time as Flight 1755, and landed at Augusta at 7:05 p.m.

    At 7:15 p.m., Flight 1755 departed for Boston and arrived there at 8:15 p.m., twenty-five minutes later than its scheduled arrival time.   

     The aircraft departed Boston at 9:17 p.m. with six passengers and a crew of two aboard, this time as Flight 1808.   Two passengers were flying to Auburn-Lewiston Airport, three to Augusta, and one to Waterville.  Two other passengers had been ticketed for the flight, but they were transferred to a non-stop flight to Bangor, and thus their lives were saved.  

     Shortly before 10:00 p.m. Flight 1808 began an instrument approach to Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport, in Auburn, Maine.   

     At 10:05 p.m. the aircraft crashed and burned in a wooded area about one mile southwest of Runway 4, and all aboard were killed.

     The coordinates of the crash site were listed in the NTSB crash report as 44 degrees, 02′ 22″ N. Latitude, 70 degrees, 17′ 30″ W. Longitude, 4,007 feet from the approach end of Runway 4.

     Among the passengers who lost their lives, was 13-year-old Samantha Smith, famous for being America’s Good Will Ambassador to the Soviet Union.  (More information about Samantha can be found elsewhere on the Internet.)

     Bar Harbor Airlines ceased operations in 1991.

     Sources:

     National Transportation Safety Board Crash Investigation Report #NTSB/AAR-86/06, Govt. Accession No. PB86-910408.     

     Lewiston Daily Sun, “Eight Dead In Fiery Auburn Crash”, August 26, 1985  

     Bangor Daily News, “Nation Grieves For Samantha Smith”, August 27, 1985

     Orlando Sentinel, “Samantha Smith Dies In Maine Plane Crash”, August 28, 1985.

     Gainsville Sun, “Panel Concludes Pilot Error Caused Crash That Killed Samantha Smith”, October 1, 1986, Page 8B

     Wikipedia – Bar Harbor Airlines

   

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