An emergency call, a dark night and a Piper Comanche in trouble.
Tragedy on Mount Mansfield.

The control tower at the Burlington International Airport received an emergency call on this night in 1966. It was from the pilot of a twin-engine Piper Comanche.

The plane had three Canadians on board, David Sheffler, Robert Rosen and Mary Pert, all from Montreal. They desperately needed landing instructions for the Burlington International Airport. The plane was never heard from again.

The next day a Civil Air Patrol search plane found the accident site on Mt. Mansfield. The Piper Comanche crashed on the west side of the mountain, in the rugged terrain just below the Summit House. There were no survivors.

The Vermont Book Of Days photo with inset courtesy the Burlington International Airport.

October Archives | October 7