The Bangor plane crash that killed at least six people on Sunday is among the deadliest aviation incidents in Maine history.
The deadliest commercial plane crash happened on May 30, 1979, when a Downeast Airlines flight from Boston to Rockland crashed during its approach to the Knox County Regional Airport. All but one of the 18 people on board were killed, according to an National Transportation Safety Board aircraft accident report.
It was foggy when the plane crashed into a heavily wooded area about 1.2 miles south of the airport in Rockland. The flight crew deviated from standard instrument approach procedures, but the NTSB was never able to determine why.
The agency noted the captain’s chronic fatigue, inadequate supervision and training, and the first officer’s marginal instrument proficiency were all factors in the crash, according to the NTSB.
The deadliest day in aviation history in Maine was July 11, 1944, when foggy conditions contributed to plane crashes in South Portland and Rangeley.
A U.S. Army A-26 Invader left Louisiana for a cross-country training flight, stopping in Connecticut before heading to Maine.
The plane encountered heavy low-lying fog as it reached Maine and crashed into a government operated trailer park for South Portland shipyard workers.
The plane exploded and broke apart on impact, setting numerous trailers on fire. The crash killed 17 people on the ground and the two crew members on the plane. Twenty others were injured.
That same afternoon, a B-17 Flying Fortress carrying 10 men left Kearny, Nebraska, and was headed to Dow Army Air Field in Bangor on its way to the 8th Air Force Base in the English midlands, according to the New England Historical Society.
The plane ran into turbulence over the Appalachians that threw it off course. Hours later, the pilot realized the bomber was running out of fuel and tried to land on Rangeley’s small airstrip. The left wing caught on a treetop and the bomber broke up as it cartwheeled through the woods, according to the historical society.
All 10 crew members died instantly.
On Aug. 25, 1985, a Bar Harbor Airlines flight crashed into a wooded area as it approached the Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport. All six passengers and two crew members on board died in the fiery crash.
Among the passengers was Samantha Smith, a 13-year-old peace activist from Manchester who drew worldwide attention in 1982 when she wrote a letter to the leader of the Soviet Union asking him to prevent a nuclear war with the United States. Her father, Arthur Smith, also died in the crash.
During the height of the Korean War, a U.S. naval anti-submarine patrol aircraft crashed while attempting to land on the new runway at the Brunswick Naval Air Station.
On April 14, 1952, 10 crew members boarded a P2-V Neptune twin-engine patrol bomber for a routine training flight. Minutes after taking off, one of the plane’s engines went dead and the pilot unsuccessfully attempted an emergency landing.
When the second engine failed, the plane crashed into trees on the edge of a field, killing six crew members.
According to NTSB data, plane crashes in Newry on Nov. 10, 1978, and Greenville on May 11, 1973, also resulted in six fatalities each.
