On April 4, 1977 Southern Airways Flight 242 DC-9 jet made a forced landing on the two-lane road of Dallas-Acworth Highway in New Hope. After flying through a hail storm that caused the engines to suffer internal damage and to fail, Flight 242 crashed on the road and slid for roughly 1,830 feet before colliding with convenience store gas pumps. The plane clipped roadside power poles and trees with the tips of it's wings, began to spin, and disintegrated on impact.

Sixty-two people on board the aircraft died, including the cockpit crew. Nine local residents on the ground also perished. There were 21 passengers who survived, along with the flight attendants. The survivors of the crash, the families of those who died, and those who tended to both, gather together on the anniversary hoping to help one another continue to heal.