On July 11, 1944, at 4:45 PM, U.S. Army Lt. Phillip "Phee" Russell was attempting to land his Douglas A-26 Invader at the Portland-Westbrook Municipal Airport. For reasons that were never fully determined, Russell lost control of the plane and crashed into a trailer park in South Portland's Brick Hill neighborhood. 19 people were killed and 20 people were injured — mostly the families of South Portland shipyard workers — making it the worst aviation accident in Maine history. A Long Creek Air Tragedy Memorial was eventually erected to commemorate the crash and honor the victims, but not until 66 years later.