Wilmington, Massachusetts – August 3, 1975
On the afternoon of August 3, 1975, a former U.S. Military AT-6 Texan trainer aircraft with the civilian registration of N66233, took off from Hanscom Field in Bedford, Massachusetts, with only a 45-year-old pilot from Belmont, Massachusetts, aboard. The aircraft had been used by the Army Air Corps during WWII.
After flying several miles the pilot began to circle a residential area over the town of Wilmington before the aircraft was seen to crash. The plane came down in the back yard of a private home on Lawrence Street, crashing through a fence, and continuing on into the next yard where it slammed into two parked cars and burst into flames. The pilot did not survive.
One man told reporters he’d been sitting in his yard when the plane came though, and was thrown from his seat and briefly knocked unconscious. The area where the plane exploded had been occupied by two children only moments before the crash.
Sources:
Lowell Sun, “Belmont Pilot Dies As Plane Crashes Narrowly Missing Wilmington Homes”, August 4, 1975
Boston Globe, “Pilot Dies As Plane Crashes In Wilmington Residential Area”, August 4, 1975
Boston Herald American, “Crash Kills Pilot” with photo of wreck aircraft. August 4, 1975.
Lawrence Eagle Tribune, “Wilmington Plane Crash Kills One”, August 4, 1975.
