Willington, Connecticut – September 3, 1927
Missing Airmail Pilot
At 7:15 p.m. on the evening of September 2, 1927, a U.S. Airmail plane belonging to Colonial Air Transport Inc. left Boston bound for Brainard Field in Hartford. The pilot was identified as Daniel G. Cline, 33, reported to be “one of the most experienced in the service of Colonial.” There was also an unidentified passenger aboard.
The trip was to take one hour, but while in-route Cline encountered misty rain and foggy weather, and was forced to make a landing in a field in Duxbury, Massachusetts. There he waited for the weather to clear.
At 10: 15 p.m. he took off again, but left his passenger behind. However foul weather forced him to make another emergency landing, this time in Webster, Massachusetts. There he waited until after midnight to resume his journey. After Cline’s departure, officials at Brainard Filed were informed that his aircraft was once again airborne, and should be arriving within a half-hour. But Cline never arrived, and when no word of another forced landing was received, so a search was instituted.
The missing plane was discovered in a thickly wooded area along a rocky hill on the farm of John Hitsky, located in an area known as Moose Meadows in the town of Willington, Connecticut. Cline’s body was found inside.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65744223/daniel-g-cline
Cline was the first mail pilot flying the newly established Boston – Hartford – New York airmail route to die in the line of duty. Two others would follow. https://newenglandaviationhistory.com/mt-lamentation-berlin-ct-september-17-1929/
Sources:
Woonsocket Call, “Air Express Plane 16 Hours Overdue, Believed To Be Lost”, September 3, 1927, pg. 1
New York Times, “Air Express Pilot Dead After Crash”, September 4, 1927
Evening Star, (Wash. D.C.), “Mail Pilot Dies As Plane Crashes”, September 4, 1927, pg. 4
