Lowell, North Reading mark 30 years since fatal plane crash

The Lowell Police Department held a memorial ceremony Tuesday at JFK Plaza in Lowell marking the 30th anniversary of a plane crash that killed four Lowell Police officers, a North Reading Police officer and three civilians.

The crash on Oct. 20, 1996, took the lives of retired Sgt. John F. Sullivan Jr., Capt. Steven A. Smith, Officer David A. Seamans and Officer Donald E. Brill of the Lowell Police Department, along with North Reading Police Officer Robert Marchionda. Also killed were pilot Michael Burns, of Maine, and veterans Barton Gaffney and John Gaffney.

Well over 100 people attended the ceremony, which included a wreath-laying, a flyover by the Massachusetts State Police Airwing, and remarks from Lowell Superintendent Greg Hudon, Deputy Superintendent Mark LeBlanc and Detective Lt. Joe Murray. The Lowell Police Honor Guard and North Reading Police Honor Guard took part, and the department's two youngest officers, both recent graduates of the Lowell Police Academy, laid a wreath in honor of those lost.

North Reading Police Chief Mark Zimmerman, who worked his first shift with Officer Marchionda, said Marchionda "was a mentor to me and many others." He added that Marchionda "was a leader and a man whose name we will never forget in North Reading."

Det. Lt. Murray, who was working the early night shift in the Criminal Bureau when he learned of the deaths, said the memories of the officers "are still alive" and that their stories "are still being told to a new generation of officers that now know their names."

Deputy Superintendent LeBlanc told newer officers that although they were not present 30 years ago, "you are part of the department they served, and their story is part of the history you now carry forward." He said, "We remember their lives, and we honor their families."

Sgt. Sullivan had spent 43 years with the department and had retired only months before his death. Capt. Smith had just earned a law degree and was about to begin a new assignment as Day Shift Commander. Officer Seamans was a Vietnam veteran, K9 officer and SWAT team member who had been named the department's Top Cop the year before. Officer Brill helped found the department's Gang Unit and Mounted Unit. Officer Marchionda was a SWAT team member who received 38 citations for his work with police in North Reading and Miami.

Source: Lowell Police Department announcement, October 20, 2026.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the original announcement. It was corrected where it differed.