Prescott's Airport is Dedicated to Ernest Love (1928)

It was a far-sighted Dan Fain who offered a square mile of land north of Prescott for use as an airport under a ten-year lease. Previously, “aeroplanes” would have to search for a suitable, level place to land, sometimes using Prescott’s target range. But in its earliest days, Prescott’s airport was little more than a cow range littered with prairie dog holes.

So when an Army airplane circled Prescott unable to locate the airport, it was obvious that improvements were needed. This prompted the Kiwanis club to appoint an aviation committee for this purpose, which the Chamber of Commerce adopted as its aviation committee as well, and improvements started quickly.

The Snow-Mageddon of '67!

Consensus knows that Prescott gets snow, but it seldom lasts long—often melting away before evening. This was the reasoning behind the city selling off its “excess” snow removal equipment. But then in mid-December 1967, a below-freezing cold-snap accompanied by four waves of heavy snow eventually produced 72 inches with drifts measuring up to 10 feet. 

Ironically, it was the city of Phoenix that sent ten snowplows, at its own expense, to help with the crisis.

1952 Saw Six Air Accidents

In the early 1950s, the Prescott Airport was a bustling place. Two airlines, Frontier and Bonanza, offered commercial service while many planes, including military, used Prescott Airport as a refueling stop. Of course, with increased activity comes the chance of increased mishaps and accidents.

Such was the case in 1952 when no less than six airplane accidents occurred around Prescott.

1970: UFO Lands in Prescott

Dick Zabriski 

It all started when a 7th grader named Dick Zabriski looked up into the night sky and saw an object that, according to him, "seemed to stand still within a column of four stars and then it started to move [erratically]...It changed colors from red to blue, then to green." (*1)

This incident would be only the beginning. Soon, the town would be abuzz over a massive wave of UFO sightings, and the curtain would be raised for the most bizarre event in Prescott's history.

1959: Constellation Airplane Crash Still a Mystery

Memorial plaque at the Constellation Trailhead honors the victims.

February 28th, 1959, was another "darned nice day" weather-wise in Prescott. William Watson, who was visiting family in the area, was driving north on State Route 89 with his nephew Robert Schilling. As they rounded a curve in the vicinity of the Phippen Art Museum, "the windshield filled with an airplane." (*1)

Plunging into the shoulder of the road before them was an Air Force Lockheed C-121G "Super Constellation" transport plane. It exploded on impact, sending flames several hundred feet into the air. (*2)

William and Robert rushed out of their car to see if they could help. But the heat of the flames, combined with the now exploding small ammunition, drove them back.

Sam Steiger, who would later serve as a U.S. Congressman and Prescott Mayor, and who owned a ranch across the way, "saw the ship at about 300 feet" coming down in a "vertical dive with one propeller feathered." (*1)

"[Other] eyewitnesses said the plane winged over and plowed nose first into the ground." (*1)

"Persons miles away from the crash scene said they saw a huge flame billow into the sky and heard a tremendous explosion. Others were attracted to the scene by huge clouds of black smoke." (*2)

A mere seven minutes before the crash, the plane radioed in to report a small forest fire south of Prescott. There was no mention of any problems with the plane at that time. (*1)

The lack of a distress call, along with the perfect weather, all added to a mystery that remains to this day.

1928: Famous Record-Breaking Airplane Crashes in Prescott

Less than 12 hours after this picture was taken, the Yankee Doodle would be reduced to "confetti" in the Bradshaw Mountains:

On November 3rd, 1928, the Prescott Evening Courier printed an Associated Press story about a record-holding, Lockheed Vega monoplane named "Yankee Doodle." It would be attempting to break its own non-stop, transcontinental record flying from L.A. to New York, taking off that day. (*1)

The Courier could never have known that later that very night, the Yankee Doodle would crash into the Bradshaw Mountains, desperately searching for the Prescott airport.