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So the story goes, On the evening of 16 November 1967, Ozark flight 873 from Chicago OHare to Kansas City with enroute stops in Sterling/Rock Falls, Moline/Quad Cities, Cedar Rapids and Ottumwa, mistakingly landed at Dixon Walgreen Field in Dixon, Illinois which is approximately 15 miles to the East of Sterling/Rock Falls. The runway was an extremely short 3,100 feet long, a whee bit short for the "Ole WhistlePig!!" I actually corresponded with the former Ozark Station Manager for Sterling/Rock Falls, from back then and he gave me as many of the details that he was able to recall... This is what he had to say: "I cant give you any idea of a date on the Dixon Ozark landing. It was headlines in the Dixon paper. It was an evening deal and dark outside, so probably no pictures. The runway at Dixon that was lighted, and was the same direction as the lighted runway at Rock Falls. I didnt know that the plane had landed in Dixon, until flight control called me from St. Louis. The pilot called St. Louis from the pay phone at the little building on the ramp at Dixon after he had walked from the plane on the runway up to the building. There was no one at the airport at the time and the runway was so narrrow that the plane couldnt turn around on the blacktop. Thats one reason it was unloaded, as when turning the ship around, one wheel was going to have to go on the sod. The taxiways were too narrow for the the plane. Another thing, there was a check pilot running jump seat and he got grounded, as did the pilot for six months." "I was there and got chewed out, as I told the reporter that it was a pilot error. I happened to be working that night. Thome Bus Lines was hired to transport the passenegers from Dixon to the Rock Falls airport. I sent one of my employees over with my truck to get the bags, mail and cargo to bring back to the Rock Falls airport. The aircraft then took off, landed at Rock Falls and we reloaded the ship so it could continue on. There were two passengers whos final destination was Dixon. They used the pay phone there and had their relations pick them up at the "Dixon" airport where Ozark provided excellent service for them!!! Always lots of interesting stories!!" ***Former Ozark Station Manager, Sterling/Rock Falls, Illinois. (Name Withheld) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I first heard of this landing when I first started working at the travel agency (back in 1989) from a client. I have been snooping around trying to get an exact date for this but I kept running into a brick wall. Somehow I got around to asking a gentleman named Bob Gibler from Dixon, Illinois who is one of the three people behind the website: leecountyhistory.com which is where Bob puts his research efforts into. By gosh, he came through for me and matter of factly, he came to notify me of what he found on the very day, 16 November, exactly 40 years after this took place....Thanks for your help Bob!!!! Anyway, take a look at the images and the actual article provided from the Dixon Telegraph newspaper microfilm archives....The pictures are not the best quality, but they will have to do. I am just glad that someone from the Dixon Telegraph had the thought to go out and capture the event on film. I am attempting to locate clearer shots of this event....After that, all I need to know is which tail number this aircraft was. That would be the bees knees!!! Thanks for looking!!!!!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Click the below images for full sized versions!!!!
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