Date:	Tuesday 5 November 1929
Time:	10:15 LT
Type:	de Havilland DH.60GM Gipsy Moth
Owner/operator:	Skyways Inc
Registration:	NC230K
MSN:	42
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Boston Airport, Boston, MA -   United States of America
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi
Departure airport:	Boston Airport, Boston, Mass. (BOS/KBOS)
Destination airport:	Bridgeport, Connecticut
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
c/no 42: DH.60GM Moth, built by Moth Corporation at Lowell, GA. Registered as NC230K 26.6.29 to Moth Aircraft Corporation, Lowell, GA. Re-registered to Edobar Associates July 1929. Operated by Skyways Inc, Boston Airport, Boston, Mass.

Written off (destroyed) 5.11.29: On November 5, 1929, de Havilland Moth NC230K with two crew aboard was taking off from East Boston Airport bound for Bridgeport, Connecticut, when, at a height of 150 feet, it suddenly lost power and fell to the ground. The aircraft hit the runway and began cartwheeling and burst into flames before coming to rest. Volunteers quickly formed a bucket brigade using water from Boston Harbor to douse the flames prior to the arrival of firefighters.

Both men aboard were killed. They were identified as (passenger) Clinton D. Johnston, reportedly about 28-years-old**, an aircraft factory inspector for the Department of Commerce, and (pilot) Henry Gordon Carter, 32, from Lebanon, New Hampshire. Both crew on board were described as "burned to death", and the aircraft was "completely burned up"

According to the official accident report (see link #3): "It is not definitely known who was piloting the ship at the point of impact, but the general opinion is that Johnston was at the controls. Carter had experience of this type [of aircraft] and knew its flying qualities well"

Johnston was to have turned the aircraft over to Carter once they reached Bridgeport, where he would fly it to New York.

**However, the official accident report (see link #3) gives Clinton D. Johnston's age as "32 years of age"

1. Manchester Evening Herald (South Manchester Conn.) Tuesday November 5 1929: http://www.manchesterhistory.org/News/Manchester%20Evening%20Hearld_1929-11-05.pdf
2. New York Times, “TWO DIE IN CRASH AT BOSTON AIRPORT; Federal Aircraft Factory Inspector and Commercial Pilot Are the Victims. PLANE FAILED AT TAKE-OFF H.G. Carter and C.D. Johnston Were Starting for Bridgeport--Investigation Under Way.”, November 6, 1929: https://www.nytimes.com/1929/11/06/archives/two-die-in-crash-at-boston-airport-federal-aircraft-factory.html
3. https://www.massairspace.org/virtualexhibit/vex8/johnson.pdf
4. https://newenglandaviationhistory.com/east-boston-airport-november-5-1929/
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/pUSA0.html
6. https://ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh60.pdf
7. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh60g-gipsy-moth-boston-2-killed
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan_International_Airport#History

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Nov-2021 13:29	Cobar	Added
27-Nov-2021 14:25	Cobar	Updated [Registration, Cn, Source]
27-Nov-2021 14:26	Cobar	Updated [Aircraft type]
27-Nov-2021 14:45	Cobar	Updated [Time]
21-Dec-2023 18:44	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category]