Chatham - Newark

On November 22, 1971 at 09:15 AM, Chatham - Newark experienced a crash involving Rockwell Aero Commander 560, operated by Garden State Airlines, with the event recorded near East Greenwich Rhode Island.

The flight was categorized as charter/taxi (non scheduled revenue flight) and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

6 people were known to be on board, 1 fatalities were recorded, 5 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 16.7%.

Crew on board: 2, crew fatalities: 0, passengers on board: 4, passenger fatalities: 1, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. While in cruising altitude on a flight from Chatham to Newark, the captain informed ATC about the failure of the left engine and was cleared to divert to the nearest airport located in East Greenwich, east Rhode Island. Unable to maintain a safe altitude, the crew attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft stalled and crashed in a field. A passenger was killed while five other occupants were injured.

Aircraft reference details include registration N87K, MSN 560-314, year of manufacture 1956.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 41.6604°, -71.4559°.