Two Men and a Plane: The Drug Smuggler Who Fell Out Of The Sky episode artwork

EPISODE · Oct 18, 2025 · 17 MIN

Two Men and a Plane: The Drug Smuggler Who Fell Out Of The Sky

from Stories of Appalachia · host Steve Gilly, Rod Mullins

We’ve told hundreds of stories about Appalachia, but few are as bizarre as the night a Kentucky drug smuggler named Andrew Thornton II fell to his death during a smuggling run over south Knoxville, Tennessee back in 1985. Join Steve and Rod as they tell the incredible story of a decorated police officer and practicing lawyer who led a double life as a major drug smuggler and the connections between this run and an incident with a black bear in north Georgia that would eventually inspire a well-known Hollywood movie.Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast on Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your favorite podcasts.Thanks for listening

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Oct 18, 2025

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Two Men and a Plane: The Drug Smuggler Who Fell Out Of The Sky

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