National Postal Museum
Photograph of airmail pilot Dean Smith
c. 1924
Airmail pilot Dean Smith is best known for a telegram he forwarded to Air Mail Service officials after a forced landing on May 15, 1923. The telegram read: "Dead sticked. Flying low. Only place to land on cow. Killed cow. Wrecked airplane. Scared me." Smith had been forced to land halfway between Millersburg and Guernsey, Iowa because of a stripped crankshaft. The cow, belonging to Mr. H.A. Sheda, was appraised at $75, which was paid to the owner in full by the department.
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