Isle Sorensen, 44, disappeared on November 2, 2003, after boarding a vintage 1939 Fleet 16B for a local personal flight that departed Westerly State Airport around 11:00 AM. The flight was part of a three-plane formation; a photographer in one plane was documenting the other two. Witnesses saw the yellow single-engine aircraft perform aerobatic maneuvers, including steep turns and low sweeps over the water.

About 11:30 AM, roughly one mile south of Fishers Island, another pilot lost radio contact with the Fleet and, on circling back, found debris floating where the plane had crashed. The aircraft appeared to have impacted the water at a steep, 45-degree angle while trying to pull up from a low maneuver and was destroyed on impact. Immediate searches by local law enforcement and volunteers recovered no sign of Sorensen or the pilot; both were never recovered and are presumed fatally injured. Recovery of wreckage was limited; about a year later the corroded Kinner R-56 radial engine with its wooden propeller was found. The NTSB determined the probable cause as the pilot’s failure to maintain adequate clearance from the water while maneuvering.

If anyone on Fishers Island or in the local flying community recalls details about that formation flight or the aircraft’s maneuvers that day, please share what is known.