Regulations and Government
AOPA Asks U.S. Government To Help Recover Seized Airplane
Engine failure over the tribe's land resulted in an emergency landing on a public highway

The Red Lake Nation continues to hold possession of a 1946 Stinson 108 that it confiscated after owner Darrin Smedsmo experienced an engine failure and landed on a highway in the tribe’s reservation in Northern Minnesota on October 15. In a letter to Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, AOPA asked for assistance to recover the airplane.

In 1978, the Red Lake Nation issued a resolution claiming that no aircraft were allowed to fly over the reservation below 20,000 feet, without specifying whether that meant above ground or sea level.

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