Hanscom plane crash under investigation

A private plane crashed on Saturday night at Hanscom Field in Bedford—the first fatal crash at Hanscom since a military plane went down in the Lincoln portion of Hanscom in 1968.

New Jersey philanthropist Lewis Katz, three friends and three crew members were killed after their private jet crashed 2,000 feet beyond the end of the runway after attempting to take off and burst into flames, according to multiple news sources. Katz and his companions had flown into Hanscom earlier in the day to attend a fundraiser at the Concord home of Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and her husband Richard.

The plane was a Gulfstream IV, a $38 million twin-engine business jet that can accommodate up to 26 passengers and a crew of four.

Former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell had also been invited to the Goodwins’ event but had a previous commitment, according to the Boston Globe.

On May 22, 1968, a C-54 military transport plane crashed just off Route 2A in Lincoln, killing one and injuring three. The plane was en route to Hanscom from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland when a fire broke out in one of its four propeller engines and the pilot radioed for emergency landing instructions, according to an article in the Globe’s May 23, 1968 edition. According to Globe, the three survivors escaped through a cockpit window and made their way to the road 200 yards away before being rescued by an Air Force ambulance crew.

Anyone who heard or saw Saturday’s crash, or who remembers the 1968 crash, is invited to contact the Lincoln Squirrel at lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com.