This week in Aspen History

“Airplane burned,” stated the Aspen Times on Oct. 1, 1926. “This afternoon about 2:45 the natives were given the novel experience of seeing an airplane circle over Aspen, and head down the valley. Shortly afterwards word came to the city that the plane had landed out near the cemetery and was afire. In a few minutes, Mr. C. L. Parsons stepped into the office of The Times, to phone the Denver Post of which paper he is the sporting editor. Lieut. D. F. Kearns was the pilot of the plane carrying Mr. Parsons on his tour of the college football games, having taken in Laramie, Wyo., Bozeman, Mont., Logan and Salt Lake City. Today they were headed for Gunnison. The compass went out of commission and they were forced off the course hitting Aspen where the gas supply was exhausted and a forced landing was made by ‘pancaking’ to the earth. Both men are Lieutenants in the 120^th Observation Squadron, Colorado National Guard and it is lucky, very lucky, that both escaped with their lives.” The image above shows the wreckage of the plane near the Red Butte Cemetery, 1926. (Aspen Historical Society, Shaw Collection)