Washington, New Hampshire – December 6, 1959
At 4:50 p.m. on December 6, 1959, three men took off from Grenier Air Force Base in a civilian twin-engine Piper Apache for what was to be a half-hour flight. While the aircraft was over the Washington area it developed icing on the wings and encountered high winds which caused it to crash on a 2,000 foot high mountian about five miles southwest of the center of town.
One of the passengers perished shortly after the crash. The second passenger was severely injured, and the pilot had suffered non-life-threatening injuries. After waiting out the night, the pilot set out at first light to seek help. He wandered through the wilderness until he encountered a search party looking for his missing airplane. When they returned to the crash site it was discovered that the second passenger had also perished.
Sources:
Evening Bulletin, (R. I.), “Ex-Woonsocket Pilot Escapes In Air Crash”, December 7, 1959.
Evening Bulletin, (R. I.) “Wrecked Plane’s Pilot Says He Fought Vainly To Save 2 Others”, December 8, 1959.
