NPA Plane Landing


The Montpelier Examiner, January 2, 1936



A large National Parks Airway plane made a forced landing here at 9:40 Wednesday night at the old landing field just west of the stockyards.  The plane was carrying five passengers and two pilots enroute from Butte, Montana to Salt Lake City and due to heavy weather and fog were unable to make its regular stop at Pocatello.

In an attempt at Idaho Falls the pilots were still unable to make a landing and were instructed by radio to head for Preston, but in trying to get to Preston they lost their course and came over Montpelier.  Here they sent out an SOS to the people to aid them in landing.

Over a hundred cars drove to the field and turned their lights on the ground best suited for landing and nearly a hundred fuses were used to make a pathway for the plane to land.  The plane circled the town for nearly an hour before making the landing and when they finally rested safely on the ground, they had only enough gas left for about 15 minutes of flying.

The pilots were profuse in their thanks to the people who assisted them and credit them with saving the ship from a bad crack-up.  One of the passengers, wife of one of the pilots, remarked that the lights of Montpelier were the most beautiful and welcome she had ever seen.


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