North Attleboro, Massachusetts – June 6, 1941

     On the evening of June 6, 1941, a 28-year-old pilot from Attleboro, Massachusetts, flew his Challenger biplane from Taunton, Massachusetts, to Wilkins Field in North Attleboro.  There he landed without incident, while his wife and two children looked on.  The wife had driven to the airfield to meet her husband and watch him land. 

     A short while later the man took off again to return to Taunton where the plane was stored.  Just as he became airborne, the engine suddenly began losing power and as he turned to return to the field the plane went into a spin and crashed in an brushy area next to Kelley Blvd., a road which bordered the airport.  The crash was witnessed by his wife and children.

     Although the plane was wrecked, the pilot didn’t suffer any life-threatening-injuries.  He was pulled from the aircraft and treated for head lacerations by a local doctor.   He then returned to the airport and directed operations for the wreckage to be transported  to his home. 

     The pilot held a student’s license, and had been flying for about a year.  He owned the plane jointly with another man, and it was not insured.  They had purchased it only six weeks earlier. 

     A footnote to this incident involves a photographer who charged the pilot with “malicious injury”.  The photographer alleged that the pilot smashed his camera and stole the film after the photographer had taken a picture of him after the crash.  The pilot plead not guilty to the charge and a court date was set for June 14.  The results of the trial are not known. 

     Sources:

     The Pawtucket Times, “Pilot Escapes In Plane Crash”, June 7, 1941, pg. 4. 

     The Pawtucket Times, “Denies Attack On Photographer”, June 9, 1941, pg. 6