I just learned about a plane crash on my relatives’ farm in 1941 and wonder if anyone might be able to lookup up any newspaper articles related to this event. According to the poster “The Howes were farmers and in October 1941 an American Airlines aircraft crashed on the Howe's farm near the farmhouse. (The airline route between Detroit and Buffalo in those days was over Lawrence.) Twenty-one people perished in the crash. The cause of the crash was never determined."
A site listing plane disasters offers supporting evidence:
ACCIDENT DETAILS
Date: October 30, 1941
Time: 22:10
Location: St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada
Operator: American Airlines
Flight #: 1
Route: New York - Buffalo - Chicago - Detroit
AC Type: Douglas DC-3
Registration: NC25663
cn / ln: 2207
Aboard: 20 (passengers:17 crew:3)
Fatalities: 20 (passengers:17 crew:3)
Ground: 0
Summary: The aircraft, on a flight from New York to Chicago, circled a wooded area 3 or 4 times looking for a landing spot before stalling and diving into a plowed field. Cause unknown.
Any additional information about this event and/or the HOWE family is much appreciated!