| R 116 |
| 2022 -- S 2272 Enacted 02/15/2022 |
| S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N |
| COMMEMORATING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIFE-SAVING HEROICS OF THE LATE THOMAS N. PRINSTER |
Introduced By: Senators Anderson, de la Cruz, Quezada, Burke, DiPalma, Lombardo, Raptakis, and Acosta |
| Date Introduced: February 15, 2022 |
| WHEREAS, Thomas N. Prinster grew up in Grand Junction, Colorado. As a young man, |
| he was a star football player who attended Gonzaga University, graduating with a degree in |
| literature. He learned to fly and attained his pilot’s license. His first assignment was to scout |
| climbing routes in the peaks around Grand Junction; and |
| WHEREAS, Mr. Prinster served our nation with valor and distinction as a member of the |
| United States Navy. During the Vietnam War he flew submarine patrols from the USS Enterprise |
| before returning home to begin a career as a commercial pilot; and |
| WHEREAS, On the fateful day of February 21, 1982, Mr. Prinster was piloting a Pilgrim |
| Airlines Flight 458 plane that took off in the afternoon from New London, Connecticut, on a |
| flight to Boston with ten passengers. Tragically a fire broke out below the cockpit while the plane |
| was near the Scituate Reservoir, which was later determined to have been caused by a faulty |
| deicing system. The cockpit area was consumed with smoke and fire; and |
| WHEREAS, Shortly thereafter, the controls of the plane were white hot and Mr. Prinster |
| and his co-pilot First Officer Lyle Hogg were being roasted by the fire. Unfortunately, if Mr. |
| Prinster let go of the controls, the plane would crash and all would perish. Despite the fact that |
| their uniforms were melting to their bodies, their hair was singed, and the heat was charring their |
| arms, legs and torso, Mr. Prinster remained at his station, never letting go of the controls, and was |
| able to guide and safely crash-land the plane. As a result, eleven of the twelve people aboard the |
| plane survived, with one perishing from smoke inhalation; and |
| WHEREAS, After landing on the frozen reservoir, Mr. Prinster and co-pilot Hogg |
| walked to the shore a quarter-mile away in incredible pain, before collapsing but not before they |
| had done everything possible for the passengers. Mr. Prinster’s body suffered seventy percent |
| burns, many of them third-degree. He spent the following six months at Massachusetts General |
| Hospital where he was one of the first recipients of artificial skin. Sadly, his lungs were scarred |
| for the rest of his life; and |
| WHEREAS, After recovering, Mr. Prinster and Mr. Hogg were invited to the White |
| House to meet President Reagan and received the United States Department of Transportation |
| Heroism Award. The Rhode Island Governor awarded Mr. Prinster the State Life Saving Medal, |
| and the two pilots were honored with a park near the crash site named for them. They also |
| received the 1982 Order of Daedalians Civilian Air Safety Award, a Veterans of Foreign Wars |
| Citation for Heroism, the "Well Done" award from the Charles Lindbergh Chapter of the Air |
| Force Association, and numerous other awards and accolades; and |
| WHEREAS, After recovering from his injuries, Mr. Prinster took to the air again, but |
| soon thereafter he chose a different path in life and attained a degree in psychotherapy and |
| became a psychoanalyst and counselor. He also enjoyed writing novels later in life. Sadly, Mr. |
| Prinster died in 2018 due to complications from the 1982 crash and was inducted posthumously |
| into the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame in 2019. The memory of Thomas Prinster’s |
| incredible life-saving heroics and courage on February 21, 1982, will live on forever; now, |
| therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby commemorates the |
| 40th Anniversary of the life-saving heroics of Thomas N. Prinster and honors the memory of his |
| courageous and valorous actions on the fateful day of February 21, 1982; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
| transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Joyce Anderson. |
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| LC004667 |
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