Dealing With Some Cold-Blooded Cargo

Wild PR stunt included crash landing of B-25 carrying snakes and alligators.

Martha Lunken

Wednesday, August 12, 2026 at 08:00 AM ET

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Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Firefighters prepare to unload these four trussed alligators from the B-25 bomber that crash-landed at Lunken Airport in 1963. [Credit: Fred Straub/Cincinnati Inquirer]

Key Takeaways:

In February 1963, a B-25 bomber carrying nearly 2,000 reptiles and four alligators crash-landed at Lunken Airport, an event witnessed by the author.
The pilot reported engine failure and hydraulic issues, prompting a dramatic gear-up landing and an emergency evacuation of the unusual cargo by firefighters.
The incident was later revealed to be a deliberate publicity stunt orchestrated by "Wild Cargo" show owner Arthur Jones to generate news coverage and boost ticket sales for his Cincinnati exhibition.
Despite being abandoned and sold for $500 after the stunt, the B-25 was eventually restored and returned to flying status in 2005.

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At lunch several weeks ago, I told a story of a B-25 that crash-landed at Lunken Airport in the 1960s with a cargo of wild reptiles, snakes and alligators. Some of these guys were old hands at Lunken, but they simply didn’t believe me.

It was way back when the original control tower was still in the main terminal building, manned by a bunch of really great FAA controllers, and the tower chief was a good friend, Wes Schaeffer.