Wreckage not found until May 10, 1957. Although the book deals with a Trans Canada Airlines (TCA) crash into Mount Slesse in Dec 1956 and is a somber book to read - the book is extremely well written and held my attention throughout the book. Peachland, where the light was seen, is about 100 miles east of the search area. There were 59 passengers and three crew members on board. At the summit, the propeller rests in a rock cairn. The station is at Birch Bay, Wash., close to the Canadian boundary. Home Geography of North America Geography of the Pacific Northwest Geography of British Columbia "We feel the aircraft is likely down in an area southeast of Hope," he said. Also, you mentioned "film." in 1959 I went to Canada as a tourist, visiting my two brothers who immigrate in 1951. The crash site was so remote that search teams were not able to reach it until the following spring. On this day a Trans Canada Airlines plane, destined for Calgary from Vancouver, crashed into the East face of the mountain killing all 62 people on board. The trailhead is a short distance ahead to your right, look … A report that a bright light seen for a few minutes atop a 4,000 foot mountain in the Okanagan valley at 11 p.m. PST Sunday might be the lost plane was considered "highly improbable" by the searchmaster. PAUL BRINDAMOUR, official at the Hope airport said: "My wife heard the plane when it was out here, but we weren't in radio contact with it." 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The football players were MEL BECKET and GORDON STURTRIDGE, who played in the game, MARIO DeMARCO and RAY SYRNYK, who were spectators. FamilyOldPhotos   Old-Yearbooks  TexasHistoryArchives. Footballers Aboard. As they were used in the Spitfire a.s.o.. Contact me. The search will be concentrated in an area within 30 miles of Hope. My parents moved to Chilliwack just past the Slesse Memorial from Coquitlam and were originally from Saint Boniface Manitoba. The author treats the crew and passengers and their families with empathy. Continued, Official Passenger List on Page 2, I have been researching the TCA North Star crash for the past sixteen years for the purpose of writing a book. The weather in the Hope district at the time the airliner disappeared was extremely bad. Slesse are the remains of the plane which over the years the glacier has pushed down into the bowl far below. We have found a huge pile of airmail bales up there. More moderate weather prevailed later, with temperatures in the high 40s. White this is purely conjecture, that is all we have to go on." So it seems this story has followed my father since 1956. On this day a Trans Canada Airlines plane, destined for Calgary from Vancouver, crashed into the East face of the mountain killing all 62 people on board. "It sounded all right," he added. Add your article. "But for God's sake be careful." 30-Mile Focal Point. [email protected]. I found this site by researching my uncle's death. Greetings: "No reports of a crash were received here." I knew we were going to encounter this debris and actually hadn’t given it much thought. Two RCAF Cansos taking part in the search returned to the Sea Island base here two hours after the 7:30 a.m. PST takeoff due to turbulent weather. SHEAHAN. "This is going to be tough searching weather," the searchmaster told his crews. At the time this was the worst airline crash in Canadian history, and adding to the profile, there were 5 CFL football players on board who were heading back East after an All-Star game. Icing conditions might be experienced late in the day. There were mountaineers who Tuesday ascended Mount Slesse's perilous southern ridge to the 6,600 foot level. Just noticed your message. The area where the plane is believed down is mountainous and rugged, pocked with lakes, carved by canyons and gorges. FamilyOldPhotos   Old-Yearbooks  TexasHistoryArchives, Parents lived down the street from Sturtridges, Canadian Birth, Marriage, & Death Records, Canadian Immigration & Naturalization Records, Port Maitland, ON Plane Crashes, Dec 1956, Danville, VA Private Plane Crash, Sep 1956, Edwards Air Force Base, CA Bell X-2 Experimental Plane Crash, Sep 1956, Newville, PA Air Force Plane Crashes, Oct 1956, Cressy, CA Air Force B-52 Jet Crash, Dec 1956. The radar fixes showed the plane could be up to 30 miles from Hope. exactly a year after the crash. I suspect it … Icing Conditions. Weather conditions were expected to be "fairly good" this morning. It is in this basin that one starts to encounter all of the aircraft debris from the plane crash in 1956. Compilation, design, artwork and concept covered by copyright. He said a motor had failed. His No. They were from the Town of St. Boniface so the story i'm sure affected everyone and the Article in the Vancouver Sun I'm sure will stir up some memories..thank you for this site. G. L. SHEAHAN, RCAF searchmaster, said today in briefing the 97 airmen taking part in the search. The only malevolent note about this classic climb was a plane crash that hit the mountain in 1956. Three senior TCA officials -- HERB SEAGREIM, vice president of operations; L. ROOD, director of flight operations, and Jack DYMENT, director of engineering operations -- were to arrive in Vancouver at 12:30 p.m. today from Montreal. Sqdn. The plane's altitude was 10,000 feet. Thank you for your time! At the third peak of Mt. Hope … This mountain made the news in December 1956 when the Trans Canada Airlines flight 810 lost an engine and became iced in winter storm conditions, got off-route trying to return to the Vancouver airport, and crashed on Slesse's Eastern flank near the summit killing all 62 people on board. All those inside died instntly." Please send a link. Great Danger. The forecast for today was 50 above zero in the Hope area. Three paratroopers were standing by at Vancouver prepared to board an aircraft and jump when the wreckage is sighted. Talk:Slesse Mountain. H. W. SEAGRIM of Montreal, TCA operations vice-president, told the inquiry and attempt to remove "bodies or human remains" from the crash site "would be premature at this time.". On the cairn you will find one blade from a propeller and multiple other pieces of debris. At the time, icing conditions prevailed from 4,500 feet upward. However, overcast conditions were likely to prevail by midday and by evening the weather will be "generally unstable." You can contact me at: There was the helicopter pilot who Monday discovered the airliner and its human cargo imbedded in the crumbling ledge near the top of one of Mount Slesse' peaks. Five members of the Canadian Football League, returning from an all star game, were killed. But the flight ended abruptly when icing and turbulence caused the plane to crash into Mount Slesse near Cranbrook, BC. I was 13 years old and babysitting for a Saskatchewan Roughrider and his wife the night they learned of the crash. First To Arrive. Free Trial - Ancestry.ca. "You'll be looking for wreckage and the signs of an explosion and in that case you'll probably see bits and pieces of a tail assembly." "But we'll stick with it as long as possible." I have been researching this tragic event for the past 16 years with the purpose of writing a book, much of which has been written. Are they posted on YouTube? "You'll be looking for signs of life, of course. . "We didn't see it -- we just heard the engines." David Smith. Slesse Memorial Trail leads to a memorial to those who perished in 1956 in the crash of the Trans-Canada flight 810 between Vancouver and Calgary, when the aircraft smashed into Slesse Mountain. Regards, The area where the plane is believed down is mountainous and rugged, pocked with lakes, carved by canyons and gorges. Are you able to drive up to, or close to the crash site? Mount Slesse Memorial Trail ~ Flight 810 Crash Site - YouTube ALLAN CLARKE, 35, of Montreal radioed that he had passed Hope and was turning back to Vancouver. Remnants of the Slesse Glacier when walking across the … I am so happy to find this site! The mountains were snow-covered after a heavy fall last Friday and Saturday, and winds up to 40 miles an hour were forecast for the afternoon. and if so, are you able to share a copy of it with me? In June 1960 he invited me to come along Mountain climber FIPS BRODA, who stood with others at the 7,600 foot level of Mount Slesse and surveyed the wreckage said Wednesday the "nobody lived beyond the moment of impact." In a dramatic description of the scene of wreckage and death, BRODA told his story to SIMMA HOLT a feature writer for the Vancouver Sun. At the first fork, turn left (follow signs for slesse and rexford). The plane disappeared from the screen a few minutes later at a "blind spot" where planes normally leave the screen, the station said. 2 (the inner port engine), which was then shut down as a precaution (false fire warning… Canadian Immigration & Naturalization Records Their shock and loss has stayed with me through the years. Nothing was heard from the plane after 7:09 p.m. when the pilot turned around to come back to Vancouver. Chilliwack, B.C. Province reported PADDY SHERMAN, Alpine Club member who led a party to the wreck Tuesday, says in a copyright story that most of the wreckage was an unrecognizable mass. Canadian Military Records I am able showing up with a copy of my 8mm film - converted into a DVD. Five months later climbers found the crash site near the summit of … At least it shows the crash site with all the big piles of cloth, bodies, wreckage parts, propellers o.s.o.. Rds. "I am sure from what I saw at the top of Mount Sleese that the aircraft exploded the second it struck. . SHEAHAN said two radar stations obtained fixes on an aircraft at 7:10 p.m., a minute after Capt. As far as could be determined, the North Star did not make contact with Abbotsford airport. In the mid 1990s, attention was focused once more on the tragedy when two hikers returned from a trip to Mt. 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