Arthur W. Plummer, Jr.
Agency patch
Trooper First Class

Arthur W. Plummer, Jr.

Maryland State Police — Pikesville, MD
Accident
End of Watch April 9, 1961
Age 36
Tour of Duty 15 yrs
The Vigil Panel 96 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Trooper First Class Arthur Plummer was killed in an airplane crash after taking off from the Fox Hill Level area of Assateague Island. He assisting deputies search for a man who had been reported missing on the island by a ferry operator who had dropped him off one week earlier. Trooper Plummer and a citizen who accompanied him located the man's car, notified searchers on the ground, and landed on the beach nearby. The man was found inside an abandoned Coast Guard station and was being turned over to Coast Guard authorities as Trooper Plummer began to take off. As the plane took off it struck a guy wire and crashed into the sand, killing Trooper Plummer and the citizen who had accompanied him. Trooper Plummer had served with the Maryland State Police for almost 15 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-MD-31761443
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
April 2, 2026
Last updated
July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Trooper First Class Plummer gave the Maryland State Police 15 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Maryland. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Trooper First Class Plummer.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Location Pikesville, MD
Platform Identity msp.md.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch April 9, 1961
Tour of Duty 15 yrs
Age 36
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Trooper First Class Arthur W. Plummer, Jr. is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In MD, 140 of 377 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 37.1% of this state's fallen. That is 6.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Maryland State Police, 28 of 42 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 66.7% of this agency's fallen.

Maryland State Police
28
of 42 officers
66.7% Accident
MD — Statewide
140
of 377 officers
37.1% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Arthur W. Plummer, Jr.'s cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Arthur W. Plummer, Jr. Compares

Age at End of Watch
36
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
15
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Arthur W. Plummer, Jr. is highlighted in Apr.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location