Taunton, MA. – May 22, 1984

February 16, 2021

Taunton, Massachusetts – May 22, 1984

     On the morning of May 22, 1984, a lone naval reserve pilot left the South Weymouth Naval Air Station in a Beechcraft T-34B Mentor, (Reg. No. N812Z), training aircraft, bound for the Taunton Municipal Airport on a certification flight.  As the aircraft was approaching the Taunton Airport witnesses reported seeing yellow smoke trailing, and the engine running erratically. The plane went down in a wooded area of Massasoit State Park about 1.5 miles from the airport.  The unidentified pilot was killed in the crash. 

       Source: Providence Journal, “Navy Reserve Pilot Killed In Plane Crash”, May 22, 1984, page A-4.  

 

Filed Under: Massachusetts - Military Tagged With: , , ,

Taunton, MA. – April 16, 1949

January 22, 2019

Taunton, Massachusetts – April 16, 1949

 

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

     On April 16, 1949, an F6F-5 Hellcat, (Bu. No. 72664), took off from the Squantum Naval Air Station for a training flight.  While over the area of Taunton, Massachusetts, the engine began to run erratically, so the pilot looked for an open area to make an emergency landing.  Sighting one, he headed for it, but as he was making his approach the engine suddenly stopped running and the aircraft crashed into a wooded area.   The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and the pilot was seriously injured. 

     Source:

     U. S. Navy Hellcat accident report dated April 16, 1949.  

Filed Under: Massachusetts - Military Tagged With: , , , ,

Taunton, MA – February 3, 1973

July 8, 2017

Taunton, Massachusetts – February 3, 1973

     At 2:25 p.m. on February 3, 1973, blue and white single-engine Cessna 150 took off from Mansfield (Mass.) Municipal Airport bound for Taunton. The pilot was a 40-year-old English teacher at Attleboro High School, making a solo flight.  About twenty minutes later the plane crashed in a remote marshy-wooded area about half-a-mile north of Route 44, in the Westville section of Taunton. 

     The first to reach the cash site was an off duty police officer who reported that the pilot was still alive, but unconscious.  Unfortunately the pilot passed away by the time he reached the hospital.         

     Sources:

     Providence Journal, “Teacher Dead In Plane crash”, February 3, 1973 (Photo of accident.)

     The Providence Sunday Journal, “Plane Crash Kills Seekonk Man”, February 4, 1973

     Taunton Daily Gazette, “National Safety Board Probing Fatal Private Plane Crash Here”, February 5, 1973  (Two photos of accident)

 

Filed Under: Massachusetts - Civil Tagged With: , , ,
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