Long Island Sound – October 30, 1946

     At 1:15 p.m. on October 30, 1946, an experimental navy airplane took off from Stratford (Ct.) Municipal Airport for a test flight over Long Island Sound.  The lone pilot aboard was Willaim Neil Horan, (29), of Bridgeport, Connecticut, who was employed by the Chance Vought Aircraft Division of United Aircraft Corporation of Stratford, Connecticut. 

     While putting the aircraft through a series of maneuvers over the Sound smoke and flames began pouring from the engines.  At this point Horan was still over the water just off the village of Northport, Long Island.   Unable to save the aircraft, he bailed out and came down in a wooded area on Bread And Cheese Hollow Road.   Meanwhile, the aircraft had gone into a spiral trailing smoke and exploded shortly before it hit the water. 

     Due to secrecy requirements, the type of aircraft and the exact nature of the test flight was not described in the newspaper article.  

     Source: Northport Journal, “Test Pilot Bails Out To Safety As Motor Goes bad”, November 1, 1946, page 1.