Stinson 108 Was Confiscated by the Red Lake Nation After an Emergency Landing

The effort to reunite a plane with its pilot has continued to rise through the ranks, reaching federal levels in a recent letter to the US Department of Transportation and the Department of the Interior. The agencies are being asked to step in after the beloved Stinson 108 was emergency-landed and held captive on the tribal land in northern Minnesota.

The request centers on a 1946 Stinson 108 owned by Darrin Smedsmo. On October 15, Smedsmo was flying over the Red Lake Indian Reservation toward Bemidji for training when his engine suffered a catastrophic failure, leaving him to land on Minnesota Highway 1. He and his plane got on the ground unscathed, and a witness helped tow the plane off the roadway.

Shortly after, the Red Lake Nation seized and impounded the aircraft. Tribal officials cited a bogus 1978 resolution that claims jurisdiction over airspace up to 20,000 feet above reservation land and prohibits aircraft from operating below that altitude. The tribe argued that the landing was unauthorized and raised safety and liability concerns, despite it occurring during an emergency.

In a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, an aviation organization (one of several that have gotten involved) argued that the seizure “raises serious concerns, as regulation of navigable airspace is a matter of exclusive federal authority and administered by the Federal Aviation Administration.”

The statement exposed multiple loopholes in the tribe’s argument, including that emergency landings are explicitly protected under federal aviation rules and that state highways remain public rights-of-way, passing through tribal land or not.

“The continued detention of the aircraft not only imposes substantial financial harm on the owner but also sets a troubling precedent that could discourage pilots from making necessary emergency landings, thereby jeopardizing public safety,” the statement continued.

Smedsmo was cited under tribal law and initially scheduled for a hearing in the Red Lake Nation tribal court, though that hearing was later called off. He has said he is prepared to challenge the tribe’s authority to regulate airspace and, if necessary, take the matter to federal court.

FMI: https://www.redlakenation.org/