Stonington Connecticut Plane Crash | New England Aviation History

Stonington, CT. – January 2, 1956

April 12, 2026

Stonington, Connecticut – January 2, 1956

On January 2, 1956, a 35-year-old pilot rented a single-engine Luscombe airplane at the Groton Airport and flew it to North Central Airport in Smithfield, Rhode Island, with his wife and daughter aboard. From there he intended to fly to Newport, but changed his mind when he learned that the weather would not be favorable. He then took off to return to Groton.

While passing over the Stonington area at an altitude of 2,000 feet, the plane suddenly began to shake and vibrate before the propeller abruptly fell away.

The pilot attempted to glide to an open field to make an emergency landing but hit some telephone lines which sent him crashing into a stone wall and fence.

The crash occurred in a field off Taugwonk Road, about a quarter mile south of Route 84. None of the occupants were injured.

Source:

Evening Bulletin, (RI), “3 Uninjured In Stonington Plane Crash”, January 3, 1956, pg. 1.

Stonington, CT – January 15, 1932

August 13, 2015

Stonington, Connecticut – January 15, 1932

On January 15, 1932, a plane carrying three men left Boston bound for New York. The pilot, Glenn Parker, 22, of St. Johnsbury, Vermont, was ferrying Cresson Parker, 31, and Earl Johnson, 22, both of Newport, New Hampshire, to New York so they could fly two new airplanes back to New England. While traveling along the southern coast of Rhode Island they encountered heavy fog, so the pilot dropped the airplane low to the ground. As they passed over the town of Westerly, R.I., they barely missed scraping the roofs of several buildings. Shortly after the plane passed from Westerly to the neighboring town of Stonington, it crashed near the New Haven Railroad tracks in the Pawcatuck section of town.

Cresson Parker later died at Westerly hospital from injuries he received in the crash. The other two men suffered cuts and abrasions, but recovered.

Source:

New York Times, “Crash In Connecticut”, January 16, 1932