South Dakota Governor Dies in Iowa Plane Crash: Iowa Time Machine April 19, 1993

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On April 19, 1993, a plane carrying South Dakota Governor George Mickelson and seven others crashed into an Iowa silo near Dubuque. All aboard died in the accident. 

Mickelson, a second-term governor initially elected to South Dakota’s highest office in 1986, found himself aboard the plane after flying east to Ohio to save the Sioux Falls John Morrell and Company meatpacking plant. Two pilots, as well as a host of other officials representing Sioux Falls, South Dakota Economic Development, banking interests, and Northern States Power, also died in the crash. 

The Mitsubishi MU-2 plane crashed into a 65’ grain silo on the Ambrosy farm just south of Zwingle after developing engine trouble around 3:25 p.m. The plane attempted to make an emergency landing at the Dubuque airport, but came up twelve miles short.

In the aftermath, crash investigators cited a failed propeller hub for the crash. Roughly a month after the disaster a mushroom hunter in Thomson, Illinois, found the propeller and engine cover. Mickelson was the first South Dakota governor to die while in office. #IowaOTD #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar