80 Years Since Post & Rogers Crashed

Wiley Post didn’t have time to react when the plane he was piloting began to sputter after taking off near Point Barrow, Alaska, on Aug. 15, 1935 — 80 years ago today — on what was supposed to be a 10-minute flight.

The Lockheed Orion Explorer included a massive 550-horsepower engine and, when it began to misfire and lose power, the plane tilted to the right and plunged 60 feet into the ground. The force of the impact drove the engine into the fuselage, killing Post and Oklahoma’s favorite son, Will Rogers.…