Stinson Air Cab Service airplane, likely similar to the plane that landed in Windham (Courtesy of Wikipedia)
On March 26, 1935, a large cabin airplane began to descend over Windham, eventually landing on George Butterfield's farm. At 9:45 that Tuesday night, Paul Myers, the 17-year-old neighbor of George Butterfield, heard the sound of a plane "buzzing" not far overhead. Concerned that the plane may strike Myers' home, the quick-thinking teenager turned on all of the lights in order to alert the pilot to the possible obstruction. With the house lit up, Myers jumped in his car and drove over to the field on the Butterfield farm where the mysterious plane had landed. Upon arriving, he observed that the plane was adorned with the words "Stenson Taxi Service" of New York; it is very likely The Portsmouth Herald misspelled the name of the air taxi service, the company actually being "Stinson."
1935 advertisement for the Stinson Air Cab Service (Courtesty of www.ninety-nines.org)
Once at the scene of the landing, Myers approached the four occupants of the plane who had begun to make their way to two awaiting automobiles. The only detail Myers could later recall of his interaction with the four occupants, were that two were elderly. Although his attempts to ascertain where they had come from were fruitless, the group did ask to use Myers' phone. Myers agreed to their request, and proceeded back to his car so he could lead the way to his home. He had expected the group to follow him back in their two cars, but instead he noticed that they began to load their baggage into their cars before driving away and abandoning the aircraft. Myers noticed that the four cases unloaded from the plane appeared to be heavy.
When Myers arrived back at his home, he alerted the police to the suspicious airplane landing, and the Windham and Derry police sent officers to investigate. Windham Chief of Police, William Brown, and Motor Vehicle Inspector Henry Parent were selected to lead the investigation. Inside the cabin of the plane, the officers recovered two pistols. The flares that had been dropped by the plane started several small fires after landing in the field, and the Derry fire department was called to extinguish the flames. A potentially dangerous fire had been started near the Butterfield home, with other fires burning on the nearby properties of Carl Albrecht and Herbert Russell.
The Butterfield family and Paul Myers assisted the police in the recreation of the night's activity, from which the police were led to believe the landing was prearranged. Following onsite investigative work and the reconstruction, the police were led to the conclusion that the plane likely flew up from the south, and circled the area of Butterfield's farm several times before dropping flares. The Manchester Airport, being the nearest airport, was contacted, but officials reported that no planes were expected that night and no planes had taken off from the airport that night. As a flight at that time of night would've been unusual for the 1930s, investigators were unable to determine exactly where the plane may have came from.
Further investigative work revealed that the plane had been registered to a Harry Clayford of Willoughby, Ohio. Despite the recollections of Myers, the reconstruction by the Butterfields, and the investigative efforts by the Windham and Derry police departments, many questions remain about the incident, even eighty-two years later. The occupants of the airplane were never identified, nor were drivers of the two automobiles that were waiting in the field. Where the plane originated from, why the occupants chose to land in Windham, and the final destination of the group of four remains unknown to this day.
When Myers arrived back at his home, he alerted the police to the suspicious airplane landing, and the Windham and Derry police sent officers to investigate. Windham Chief of Police, William Brown, and Motor Vehicle Inspector Henry Parent were selected to lead the investigation. Inside the cabin of the plane, the officers recovered two pistols. The flares that had been dropped by the plane started several small fires after landing in the field, and the Derry fire department was called to extinguish the flames. A potentially dangerous fire had been started near the Butterfield home, with other fires burning on the nearby properties of Carl Albrecht and Herbert Russell.
The Butterfield family and Paul Myers assisted the police in the recreation of the night's activity, from which the police were led to believe the landing was prearranged. Following onsite investigative work and the reconstruction, the police were led to the conclusion that the plane likely flew up from the south, and circled the area of Butterfield's farm several times before dropping flares. The Manchester Airport, being the nearest airport, was contacted, but officials reported that no planes were expected that night and no planes had taken off from the airport that night. As a flight at that time of night would've been unusual for the 1930s, investigators were unable to determine exactly where the plane may have came from.
Further investigative work revealed that the plane had been registered to a Harry Clayford of Willoughby, Ohio. Despite the recollections of Myers, the reconstruction by the Butterfields, and the investigative efforts by the Windham and Derry police departments, many questions remain about the incident, even eighty-two years later. The occupants of the airplane were never identified, nor were drivers of the two automobiles that were waiting in the field. Where the plane originated from, why the occupants chose to land in Windham, and the final destination of the group of four remains unknown to this day.
