July 28, Esperance, N.Y. / Aeronca Chief

At 18:42 eastern time, an Aeronca S-65-CA struck wires and crashed during low-level cruise flight in Esperance, killing the pilot and passenger. The accident site was 1 mile from the pilot/owners private strip. Several witnesses said they often saw the airplane flying low down a nearby creek. On this particular pass, one witness, the chief of the local fire department, said the airplane came in low, about 100 feet over his house, climbed over the tree line and then made a steep left turn back into the creek basin, and struck wires suspended 50 feet above the water.