Posted on 11/02/2025 9:05:23 AM PST by Red Badger
A Minnesota pilot found himself in a bizarre situation this month, as he was forced to make an emergency landing on a Native American reservation, only to learn that he was about to face an even more frustrating ordeal.
The Daily Mail reported on the strange incident:
Native American tribe snatches pilot's plane from him after he made emergency landing on their reservation https://t.co/FgD6LkQntk— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) October 31, 2025
Darrin Smedsmo was flying over the Red Lake Indian Reservation when his single - engine Stinson airplane suddenly stopped working mid - air.
With less than three minutes until disaster, the experienced pilot was forced to land on a paved state road below.
Moments later, Smedsmo's plane was confiscated by tribal police, who claimed he did not have the authority to fly it over their reservation.
Citing a decades-old resolution passed by the Red Lake tribal council, the reservation authorities hauled Smedsmo's aircraft away, pending an official tribal hearing.
Smedsmo was told his plane had violated the tribe's 1978 law banning 'any airplane' from flying over Red Lake lands at less than 20,000 feet.
If he wants his plane back, he will have to suffer through a tribal trial — starting November 3.
'The land is theirs, but they are claiming the air is theirs,' Smedsmo said. 'They don't control the air. That is basically untenable.'
The law is the law, I guess. But not making an emergency exception? That seems a little unfair.
Can't say this comes as a surprise, though. It makes Indians sad when you drop stuff on their land.
True. In 2015 the FAA put out to stop calling Federal Aviation Regulations by the acronym FAR's in order to avoid confusion. I've yet to meet anyone in aviation that has stopped calling them FAR's however. At 57 I'm too old to rewire my brain so I'll just have to keep using it. If a fed wants to debrief me on it then so be it.
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