This day in history: A plane crash with no victim turned out to be the work of an inept ‘joyrider’

From 1976: Someone stole a Cessna 150 from Felts Field and crashed it into a gravel pit at Eighth Avenue and Carnahan Road.

Responders found blood in the cockpit of the smashed plane – but no pilot.

Officers knew that the pilot must have been badly hurt, so they checked local emergency rooms.

There, they found Michael G. Frazier, 26, with a broken left ankle, broken ribs and extensive cuts. He claimed he had “been assaulted.”

Not quite.

Frazier was arrested for grand larceny for stealing the plane, which belonged to local businessmen, and then attempting – ineptly – to fly it. He got lost in the fog, hit a few trees and then crashed it into the pit.

He would later confess to “joyriding in three other airplanes.”

From 1926: Spokane was on the verge of a furious price war, and it was being waged with curling irons and scissors.

The Western Hair Company shocked the beauty parlor industry by offering marcel waves at 50 cents and permanent waves at $10.

The city’s other beauty parlors were charging $1 for marcel waves and $15 to $20 for permanent waves.

The proprietor of the Western Hair Company denied attempting to start a price war. He said his shop had been greatly enlarged, and he could afford to do the work for less because of increased volume.

Other operators said they would have to reduce their prices to compete.