Crashes and Accidents: Post War 48-49
I am in the process of documenting every airplane crash and accident that occurred
at Mitchel Field/Mitchel AFB.
Researching and cross-referencing crash records and documents is a time consuming and tedious process.
I hope to include details and photos.
Please be patient and check back often for updates.
Thank you. Paul Martin, webmaster.
1948
February 11, 1948
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March 31, 1948
"HEMPSTEAD, N. Y., March 31 (AP) - Two air force fliers were killed today when a fighter plane from Mitchel field crashed and burned in a wooded area near the field. First Lt. Alan Belmarsh, 26, of Brockton, Mass., was killed instantly. First Lt. Ray E. Fritsche, 25, of route 4, San Augustine, Texas, died at the Mitchel Field base hospital."
First Lt. Ray E. Fritsche
Lt. Alan Belmarsh
"HEMPSTEAD, N. Y., March 31 (AP) - Two air force fliers were killed today when a fighter plane from Mitchel field crashed and burned in a wooded area near the field. First Lt. Alan Belmarsh, 26, of Brockton, Mass., was killed instantly. First Lt. Ray E. Fritsche, 25, of route 4, San Augustine, Texas, died at the Mitchel Field base hospital."
First Lt. Ray E. Fritsche
Lt. Alan Belmarsh
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Lieut Ray Earl Fritsche BIRTH 1923 DEATH 1948 (aged 24–25) BURIAL Magnolia Cemetery Beaumont, Jefferson County, Texas, USA Alan Belmarsh
BIRTH unknown DEATH 31 Mar 1948 BURIAL Boylston Lodge Cemetery West Roxbury, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, USA |
July 24, 1948
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August 3, 1948
Capt. Robert Lee Heaton
Capt. Robert Lee Heaton
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Robert Lee Heaton BIRTH 24 Jul 1920 Dublin, Erath County, Texas, USA DEATH 3 Aug 1948 (aged 28) BURIAL Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas, USA PLOT H, 0, 181 MILITARY CAPT, US AIR FORCE |
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September 10, 1948
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November 10, 1948
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1949
January 30, 1949: Lockheed Constellation
January 30, 1949: A Lockheed Constellation made an emergency landing at MF after being struck in a mid-air collision with a Cessna over central Long Island. The Cessna crashed into the gallery area with no casualties on the airliner, but the two passengers in the Cessna were killed. The Pan Am passenger plane took off from Idlewild (Kennedy) Airport on its way to London. Repairs were made at MF and the Constellation flew out six weeks later.
April 24, 1949
An F-82 crashed after takeoff engine failure onto Hempstead Turnpike. The pilot and passenger escaped before the aircraft burst into flames.
An F-82 crashed after takeoff engine failure onto Hempstead Turnpike. The pilot and passenger escaped before the aircraft burst into flames.
4 May, 1949: USAF North American F-82F Twin Mustang
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4 May, 1949:
USAF North American F-82F Twin Mustang, 46–468, out of Mitchel Field crashes into an unfinished house on Fulton Avenue near Duncan Road, a residential neighborhood of Hempstead, New York near Hofstra University; the plane burst into flames but neither the pilot, 2nd Lt. Andrew Wallace, nor his radar observer, 1st Lt. Bryan Jolley, were killed. In fact, Wallace used a brick from the house to smash the right canopy and rescue Jolley.
USAF North American F-82F Twin Mustang, 46–468, out of Mitchel Field crashes into an unfinished house on Fulton Avenue near Duncan Road, a residential neighborhood of Hempstead, New York near Hofstra University; the plane burst into flames but neither the pilot, 2nd Lt. Andrew Wallace, nor his radar observer, 1st Lt. Bryan Jolley, were killed. In fact, Wallace used a brick from the house to smash the right canopy and rescue Jolley.
A Mustang F-81 crashed into a home at Commercial and Fulton streets in Hempstead. Air Force firefighting crews try to smother the flames with foam on May 4, 1949.
Newsday: June 4, 1949 |
Newsday: June 14, 1949, Letter
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August 3, 1949
Herbert A Toan
BIRTH 6 Aug 1923 DEATH 3 Aug 1949 (aged 25) Lawrence, Nassau County, New York, USA BURIAL Glenwood Cemetery Perry, Wyoming County, New York, USA |
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Photo courtesy Jim and Elizabeth
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2nd Lt. Herbert A. Toan
119th Fighter Squadron 108th Fighter Group World War II Lt. Toan died in an airplane accident out of McGuire Field, N.J., where he was spending two weeks for R.O.T.C. training.
According to unofficial reports, Herbert was flying in formation with three other planes over Long Island when they ran into a storm. He left the formation and the crash followed, thereafter, near Lawrenceville, L.I. He was survived by his father and stepmother; two sisters, Mrs. Harold (Marion Toan) Hopkins of Rochester and Miss Harriet A. Toan of Glen Falls. His mother died in 1928. |
August 4, 1949
August 18, 1949
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Lt. Robert T Lancaster BIRTH 1923 DEATH 1949 (aged 25–26) BURIAL Fairview Cemetery Veazie, Penobscot County, Maine, USA |
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August 17, 1949
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September 9, 1949
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November 18, 1949
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