The Great Airport Mystery by Franklin W. Dixon

The Great Airport Mystery opens with Frank and Joe Hardy, sons of detective Fenton Hardy, driving to Bayport's new airport when they witness pilot Giles Ducroy crash his plane after nearly forcing their roadster off the road. Ducroy, drunk, blames the boys for the wreck, but a farmer named Jim Perrin witnesses the truth. The post office department investigates, finds Ducroy had been drinking, and discharges him. Ducroy later attacks Frank on the street and is beaten in a fistfight, but Frank refuses to press charges. The boys pass their final exams and graduate from Bayport High. At a class picnic in Beach Grove, Frank and Joe discover a hidden cabin where they overhear Ducroy plotting with two criminals, Ollie Jacobs and Newt Pipps, over a risky scheme worth "ten thousand dollars apiece." A thunderstorm interrupts the picnic. Soon after, mail sacks are stolen from the airport hangar. Fenton Hardy is assigned to the case and tells his sons about it; they reveal what they overheard, but Ducroy has an alibi. Investigating further, the boys search the cabin and find a cigarette package clue. Later, caught in a storm while visiting Cabin Island with Chet Morton and Biff Hooper, they take refuge overnight with storekeeper Amos Grice. There they learn a second, larger mail robbery has occurred. Returning to Bayport, they are shocked to be arrested themselves—planted evidence (Frank's sweater, his knife, and shoe-matching footprints) implicates them. Fenton Hardy demonstrates the footprint evidence was faked, but Chief Collig still holds them. Elroy Jefferson and Hurd Applegate post the boys' bail. With their father called away to New York, Frank and Joe track Ollie Jacobs to the Raven Roadhouse and Greenfield, overhearing him purchase an airplane for a new scheme timed for "the night of the twenty-eighth." They stow away in the tail compartment of Ducroy's newly bought plane, enduring cramped, dangerous flights across the countryside while eavesdropping on the gang's plans to rob another air-mail plane carrying a large cash shipment. They nearly reveal themselves several times, including when Joe's sleeve catches in the steering gear during a dive. On the night of the robbery, the gang forces down the mail plane using a rope tangle, and as Ducroy, Jacobs, and Pipps rush to rob the injured pilot, the Hardy boys sabotage the getaway plane's engine and then ambush the three criminals one by one at gunpoint, capturing them with the help of the mail pilot, Benton. A local sheriff takes the criminals into custody. Benton then flies the repaired plane, with Frank and Joe aboard, back to Bayport, where a crowd of reporters and officials await them. At the airport, the Hardy boys learn that their father had separately arrested two airport mechanics who had been secretly helping Ducroy, and who confessed that Ducroy had staged the earlier thefts and planted the false evidence against Frank and Joe. The charges against the boys are dropped, their bail is returned, and the postal authorities and Chief Collig publicly clear them. Hurd Applegate and Elroy Jefferson visit the Hardy home to celebrate the resolution, praising the boys' work in exposing Ducroy's gang and safeguarding the air mail.

By Franklin W. Dixon · First published 1930 · Genre: Mystery, Detective Fiction, Adventure · 24 chapters · 50,017 words

First lines

"It's certainly great to have an airport so close to Barmet Bay," said Frank Hardy.

"I wish we could go up in an airplane some time," returned Joe, his brother.

• Open reader

What this Textopian page supports

The Great Airport Mystery is listed on Textopian as a novel by Franklin W. Dixon, dated 1930 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

• Work type: Novel
• Author: Franklin W. Dixon
• Date: 1930 CE
• Language: English
• Genres: Mystery, Detective Fiction, Adventure, Crime Fiction, Thriller
• Length: 50,017 words
• Structure: 24 chapters, 1,648 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

Good citation fit

• Work identity for The Great Airport Mystery by Franklin W. Dixon
• Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
• Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
• Readability and classroom-planning context
• Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph

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Genres

• Mystery — The plot centers on solving the mystery of stolen postal mail sacks from the airport. Frank and Joe work to uncover the truth about the theft, following suspects and gathering clues, making the mystery the core narrative element that drives the entire story forward.
• Detective Fiction — The protagonists are amateur detectives actively investigating a crime, conducting surveillance on suspects, interviewing witnesses, and using deductive reasoning. Their work directly mirrors their father's profession and reflects their ambition to become professional detectives themselves.
• Adventure — The narrative features numerous thrilling and dangerous episodes including a dramatic plane crash at the opening, a violent thunderstorm with near-tragedy, exploration of suspicious cabins, and various physical dangers that excite the plot and maintain reader engagement throughout.
• Crime Fiction — The story is fundamentally driven by criminal activity including theft of valuable mail, potential smuggling and bootlegging operations, and the involvement of criminal characters whose exposure and apprehension serves as the central objective of the plot.

Tags

mystery · detective · adventure · young-adult · children's-literature · suspense · crime · investigation · coming-of-age · brotherhood · problem-solving · classic-literature

Contents

• Peril from the Sky
• The Crash
• A Promise of Trouble
• An Attack
• Anxious Days
• The Cabin in the Woods
• A Mysterious Conversation
• Puzzled
• Missing Mail
• Looking for Clues
• News from the City
• Under Arrest
• Circumstantial Evidence
• Held for Trial
• On the Trail of Ollie Jacobs
• Mysterious Plans
• Dangerous Business
• The Warning Message
• The Twenty-Eighth
• That Night
• West of Bacon Hill
• Captured
• Back in Bayport
• Vindicated

More by Franklin W. Dixon

• Hunting for Hidden Gold (1938)
• The House on the Cliff (1932)
• The Missing Chums (1927)
• The Mystery of Cabin Island (1939)
• The Secret of the Caves (1935)
• The Secret of the Old Mill (1930)
• The Shore Road Mystery (1939)
• The Tower Treasure (1927)
• All works by Franklin W. Dixon