It’s pretty rare, thankfully, to hear about a plane crash in Montana. But over 70 years ago, during World War II, tragedy struck in Billings when a plane fell from the sky in early December. And even though the better part of a century has passed since that fateful night, the crash remains embedded in our local history.

On December 8, 1945, Billings was hit with a major cold front.
Billings, Montana's Trailhead Facebook
This brought a big drop in temperature and heavy snow flurries.
At about 2AM, the control tower operator at what is now Billings Logan International Airport contacted an inbound C-47 transport plane filled with military members returning from World War II and operated by Northwest Airlines as an Army charter.
Wikipedia
The operator told the pilot he was flying too high, so the plane circled over Billings for another try at a landing.

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As the plane looped back around, the tower operator watched it disappear into the snow, and then saw its light reappear below the level of the landing field.
Archangel12 / Flickr
This time he warned the pilot that the plane was too low. The plane disappeared from view once more, this time for good.
When the pilot stopped answering calls, an observer at the airport climbed onto the roof of the tower and looked into the valley below... and unfortunately, he spotted burning wreckage.
Ryan Polei / Flickr
The crash had killed 19 of the 23 people onboard, who were soldiers returning home from World War II. 17 soldiers and two crew members died.
The crew was from Minnesota, but all of the men on the plane were from Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
Billings, Montana's Trailhead Facebook
This was the deadliest plane crash in Billings' history. A marker at Veteran's Park near the crash site notes the disaster and honors the passengers.

Did you know about this plane crash in Montana? Check out these other fascinating facts about the Treasure State many people aren’t aware of.

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