Thomas E. Sanderson '65, a lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve, was killed yesterday morning in a plane crash near Hingham, Mass. The 28-year-old junior was co-pilot of the plane at the time of the crash.

The plane's pilot, Peter Gram, of West Action, Mass., had called his base at 10:40 a.m. to report that the engines were losing power; fifteen minutes later, the plane crashed and both officers were killed.

Sanderson had joined the Navy upon graduation from high school. He qualified for officer's training at Pensacols, Fla, and later became a pilot.

After leaving the Navy in Agu., 1960, Sanderson entered Harvard, but he was recalled to service during the Berlin Crisis, when he served at Guantanamo, Cuba.

Returning to Harvard as as sophomore, Sanderson decided to become a doctor and worked nights as an orderly in the emergency ward of the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital.

Lieutenant Commander Sanderson, USNR, originally came from New Haven, Conn., and was living at 10 Dana St. at the time of his death.