from author and historian Jim Ignasher
Stratford, Connecticut – November 29, 1970
On November 29, 1970, a 39-year-old man from Trumbull, Connecticut, perished when his home-built airplane crashed and sank in the Housatonic River in Stratford. The man had built the aircraft himself, and this was only his second flight with it.
Source:
The Bridgeport Post, “Search Continues For Trumbull Pilot, Homemade Plane Dove Into River”, November 30, 1970. (Article submitted by Eric Wiberg, author and historian.)
Stratford, Connecticut – March 15, 1943
F4U Corsair
US Navy Photo
On March 15, 1943, Chance-Vought civilian test pilot Boone T. Guyton, was piloting an F4U-1 Corsair, (Bu. No. 02157), over the Stratford area. The aircraft had been brought to Chance-Vought and converted to a XF4U-3, with experimental equipment added. Mr. Guyton was testing the performance of the aircraft when the engine suddenly failed forcing him to make an emergency landing at Bridgeport Airport, (Today known as Sikorsky Memorial Airport.) Upon landing the aircraft struck a cement retaining wall. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair, and the pilot was seriously injured.
Investigation determined that one of the rods in the engine had seized causing the engine failure.
Guyton survived an earlier crash landing in Norwich, Connecticut, on July 11, 1940. Click here for more information.
Boone Guyton, (1913 – 1996), was a well known test pilot and navy veteran. He wrote a book of his experiences called “Whistling Death: The Test Pilot’s Story Of The F4U Corsair, published in 1991 and 1997.
Source:
U.S. Navy accident report #43-6245, dated March 15, 1943
Stratford, Connecticut – November 29, 1975
There is little information about this accident. On November 29, 1975, a single-engine airplane with a 55-year-old father and his 22-year-old son aboard, went down in the water just a few yards off the shore of Long Beach in Stratford. The cause was not stated. Both escaped with minor injuries.
Source:
Boston Herald – American (Advertiser), Photo and caption. November 30, 1975
Stratford, Connecticut – September 15, 1974
Sikorsky Airport
On the evening of September 15, 1974, an experimental helicopter containing four men and one woman was taxing onto the airfield at Sikorsky Airport when it suddenly exploded. The helicopter, a YCH-53E (Sea Stallion) prototype, was about to begin a demonstration test flight in the hopes of gaining a contract with the U.S. Navy or Marines.
All five persons aboard suffered severe injuries and burns.
By the time the fire was extinguished only the nose and tail section remained.
Sources:
Providence Evening Bulletin, “Copter Blast”, September 16, 1974, page A-6
Providence Journal, “4 In Copter Blast Reported Fair”, September 17, 1974, page B-2
Stratford, Connecticut – January 10, 1975
Updated July 30, 2018
At 12:30 p.m. on January 10, 1975, a twin-engine Piper Apache airplane took off from Meriden-Wallingford Airport bound for Farmingdale, Long Island, N.Y. Shortly before 12:53 p.m., the engine developed mechanical difficulty while passing over Stratford. Witnesses later told reporters that they heard the engine skipping before the airplane went into a nosedive and crashed and exploded. The aircraft went down on Cutspring Road, a residential area in the northern part of Stratford, but no homes were damaged. The 54-year-old pilot from Long Island was the only person aboard, and was killed instantly.
Sources:
New York Times, “L.I. Businessman is Killed In Connecticut Plane Crash”, January 11, 1975.
Hartford Courant, “Man Dies In Plane Crash”, January 11, 1975, with photo of accident scene. Page 9.
Providence Journal Bulletin, “Conn. Plane Crash Kills Pilot”, January 11, 1975, page 2
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