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The single-engine floatplane was headed for Point Barrow, the northernmost point of U.S. territory, when the pilot landed on a remote lagoon to ask for directions. Wiley Post, the first man to complete a solo around-the-world flight, was touring Alaska. His passenger, who was filing newspaper columns documenting their adventures, was Post’s friend, a fellow Oklahoman, and one of the most famous people in America—the writer, comedian, and Hollywood star Will Rogers. When an Indigenous hunter told them they were fifteen miles southwest of their destination, they roared back into the air. Within moments, the engine stalled and the plane