Pilot Lieutenant Tremain M. Hughes died while operating a Fleet biplane owned by the New York State Police. He was following the Cazenovia-Peterboro Road when the plane struck an elm tree, crashed, and burst into flames. Lieutenant Hughes was trapped in the rear cockpit of the burning plane, while Corporal Theophlius Gaines was thrown clear of the wreck and killed instantly. Corporal Gaines, a communications expert, was being transported from SP Batavia to SP Oneida for a teletypewriter system inspection.