Canadian Pacific Airlines
Encyclopedia
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986. Based at Vancouver International Airport
Vancouver International Airport
Vancouver International Airport is located on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, about from Downtown Vancouver. In 2010 it was the second busiest airport in Canada by aircraft movements and passengers , behind Toronto Pearson International Airport, with non-stop flights daily to...
in Richmond
Richmond, British Columbia
Richmond is a coastal city, incorporated in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Part of Metro Vancouver, its neighbouring communities are Vancouver and Burnaby to the north, New Westminster to the east, and Delta to the south, while the Strait of Georgia forms its western border...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, it served Canadian and international routes until it was purchased and absorbed into Canadian Airlines
Canadian Airlines
Canadian Airlines International Ltd. was a Canadian airline that operated from 1987 until 2001. The airline was Canada's second largest airline after Air Canada, and carried more than 11.9 million passengers to over 160 destinations in 17 countries on five continents at its height in 1996...
.
Inception
In the early 1940s, the Canadian Pacific Railway CompanyCanadian Pacific Limited
Canadian Pacific Limited was created in 1971 to own properties formerly owned by Canadian Pacific Railway, a transportation and mining giant in Canada...
purchased ten bush airlines in a short time span, finishing with the purchase of Canadian Airways
Canadian Airways
Canadian Airways was an airline formed when Western Canadian Airways bought out Commercial. It operated through the 1930s until it was purchased by Canadian Pacific Air Lines in 1941, carrying passengers on mail planes into smaller communities.-History:James Armstrong Richardson established WCA in...
in 1942, to form Canadian Pacific Air Lines. Early management were largely bush flying
Bush flying
Bush flying is a term for aircraft operations carried out in remote, inhospitable regions of the world. Bush flying involves operations in rough terrain where there are often no prepared landing strips or runways, frequently necessitating that bush planes be equipped with abnormally large tires,...
pioneers, including president Grant McConachie
Grant McConachie
George William Grant McConachie was a Canadian bush pilot and businessman who became CEO of Canadian Pacific Airlines ....
, superintendent Punch Dickins
Punch Dickins
Clennell Haggerston "Punch" Dickins OC, OBE, DFC was a pioneering Canadian aviator and bush pilot. Northern Indians called him "Snow Eagle;" northern whites called him "White Eagle;" while the press dubbed him the "Flying Knight of the Northland."-Early years:Clennell Haggerston Dickins was born...
, and Wop May
Wop May
Captain Wilfrid Reid "Wop" May, OBE, DFC , was a First World War flying ace and a pioneering aviator who created the role of the bush pilot while working the Canadian west....
, who would become a repair depot manager in Calgary.
In 1968, Canadian Pacific Air Lines was rebranded
Rebranding
Rebranding is the creation of a new name, term, symbol, design, or a combination of them for an established brand with the intention of developing a differentiated position in the mind of stakeholders and competitors....
as CP Air. The Canadian Pacific Railway Company (renamed Canadian Pacific Limited
Canadian Pacific Limited
Canadian Pacific Limited was created in 1971 to own properties formerly owned by Canadian Pacific Railway, a transportation and mining giant in Canada...
in 1971) had decided to align the airline's name and logo design to that of its other subsidiaries, including CP Hotels
Canadian Pacific hotels
Canadian Pacific Hotels was a division of Canadian Pacific Railway that operated a series of hotels across Canada. Most of these resort hotels were originally built and operated by the railway's Hotel Department, while a few were acquired from Canadian National Hotels...
, CP Ships
CP Ships
CP Ships was a large Canadian container shipping company, prior to being taken over by Hapag Lloyd in late 2005. CP Ships had its head office in the City of Westminster in London and later in the City Place Gatwick development on the property of London Gatwick Airport in Crawley, West Sussex.The...
, and CP Transport (CP Rail
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
was spun off from the parent company later).
Battle with TCA
CP Air battled with the government-owned Trans-Canada Air LinesTrans-Canada Air Lines
Trans-Canada Air Lines was a Canadian airline and operated as the country's flag carrier. Its corporate headquarters were in Montreal, Quebec...
(TCA) for international and transcontinental routes for much of its history. Despite early attempts to merge into one national carrier, CP Air continued to operate routes based on its previous bush flying heritage.
The federal government established limits on domestic market share and, through international agreements, limits on which countries CP Air could fly to. This barred CP Air from the traditional routes such as London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and limited their access to major Canadian routes such as Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
-Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
-New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. CP was forced to develop other overseas routes.
Overseas routes
The development of the great circle or polar route to the Far EastFar East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
from CP Air's Vancouver base would become one of the cornerstones of the airline. Grant McConachie managed to secure flights to Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, and Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, which helped the airline's revenue grow from $3 million in 1942 to $61 million by 1964. Flights to Sydney and to Hong Kong via Tokyo started in 1949, with Canadairs; DC-4s took over in 1952 and DC-6Bs in 1953. Flights to Lima started in 1953 (extended to Buenos Aires in 1956) and to Amsterdam in 1955.
Several of the key routes in the early days were as follows:
- Flights 1 & 2, flying Hong Kong – TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
– Vancouver – EdmontonEdmontonEdmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
– WinnipegWinnipegWinnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
– Toronto – MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America... - Flight 301/302, flying Sydney – NadiNadiNadi is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. Nadi is multiracial with many of its inhabitants Indian or Fijian, along with a large transient population of foreign...
– Honolulu – Vancouver – Edmonton, and non-stop via the Polar Route to Amsterdam. Other flights to Europe included LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, and RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. - Flights 401/402, flying Vancouver, Mexico CityMexico CityMexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, LimaLimaLima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
, SantiagoSantiagoSantiago is the capital city of Chile. Santiago may also refer to:*Santiago *Santiago , a Spanish given name*Santiago!, a shortened form of the Reconquista battle cry "Santiago y cierra, España"...
and Buenos AiresBuenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent... - Flights 501/502, Mexico City – Toronto – Santa MariaSanta Maria IslandSanta Maria , Portuguese for Saint Mary, is an island located in the eastern group of the Azores archipelago and the southernmost island in the Azores...
(Azores) – Lisbon – MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
Other routes duplicated parts of the above, but from the 1959 Intercontinental Timetable these appear to be the main routes, and show the inventiveness that Canadian Pacific Airlines needed to employ and how they developed other overseas routes for Canada. The airline was flying DC-4s and DC-6s internationally in the 1950s, introducing turboprop Bristol Britannia Aircraft from 1958. DC-8s began to replace them from 1961, but the Britannias continued on routes that were unsuitable for the new jets well into the 1960s – for example on the route to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
until Whenuapai
RNZAF Base Auckland
RNZAF Base Auckland is a Royal New Zealand Air Force base located near the upper reaches of the Waitemata Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand. The base formerly comprised two separate airfields, Whenuapai and Hobsonville. Hobsonville was established as a seaplane station in 1928 and was the RNZAF's...
closed to civil traffic in November 1965. Service to New Zealand resumed in 1985 along with non-stop flights from Vancouver to Hong Kong, and in 1986 CP Air became the first North American airline to have a non-stop flight between North America and Mainland China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
with a weekly flight to Shanghai. New service to Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, and Sao Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
were added in 1987.
Although Canadian Pacific was not allowed scheduled routes to many European countries, they developed extensive charter flights (operated mainly in summertime) through the 1970s and 1980s to Britain, France, Germany and other European points which permitted them to make some access to these markets. Unusually for charter flights, they were listed in detail in their system timetables to show the full reach of the airline.
Open skies
By the late 1970s and early 1980s, many of the routes CP Air had pioneered such as Vancouver–Tokyo were now very lucrative and the previous distribution of routes was considered unfair. In 1979, the federal government eliminated the fixed market share of transcontinental flights for Air CanadaAir Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and largest airline of Canada. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 178 destinations worldwide. It is the world's tenth largest passenger airline by number of destinations, and the airline is a...
(the successor to TCA). While this was a condition that was pressed by CP Air for a long time, it now scrambled to upgrade its fleet to expand on newly available routes such as new nonstop service from Vancouver to Hong Kong and Shanghai to go along with adding more flights to its then current routes like Amsterdam, Rome, Tokyo and Sydney to prepare for increased competition from Air Canada in its traditional territory. This required massive fleet renewal and an associated debt of $1 billion.
This debt load, the increased competition, and the economic downturn in Asia would all work against CP Air's future.
Rebranding and Sale
Having been renamed CP Air in 1968, the airline in 1986 reverted to its original name of Canadian Pacific Air Lines. The rebranding included replacing its trademark orange livery with a new navy blue color scheme and logo. This occurred shortly after the airline had taken over operations of Eastern Provincial AirwaysEastern Provincial Airways
Eastern Provincial Airways traces its history from Maritime Central Airways from 1961 and merged with CP Air to form Canadian Pacific Airlines in 1986.EPA, as it was known, was the backbone of air travel in Eastern Canada in the 1970s...
.
This new incarnation, however, would prove to be short-lived. Less than a year later, in 1987, Canadian Pacific Air Lines was sold, along with Quebec's Nordair
Nordair
Nordair is a defunct Quebec-based regional airline founded in 1947 from the merger of Boreal Airways and Mont Laurier Aviation. The airline operated from the 1950s to the 1980s. Most of its business was international and transatlantic passenger and freight charters and other contracts. It also...
, to Calgary-based Pacific Western Airlines
Pacific Western Airlines
Pacific Western Airlines was an airline that operated scheduled flights throughout western Canada and charter services around the world from the 1950s through the 1980s...
(PWA) for $300 million. PWA would assume the airline's debt of $600 million. In April 1987, PWA announced that the new name of the merged airline would be Canadian Airlines International. In 2000, Canadian Airlines was taken over by and merged into Air Canada
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and largest airline of Canada. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 178 destinations worldwide. It is the world's tenth largest passenger airline by number of destinations, and the airline is a...
.
Historical fleet
- Bellanca 66-76 Aircruiser http://1000aircraftphotos.com/NorthernCanada/Bellanca.htm
- Bristol Aeroplane CompanyBristol Aeroplane CompanyThe Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aero engines...
175 Britannia 314Bristol BritanniaThe Bristol Type 175 Britannia was a British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the British Empire...
http://1000aircraftphotos.com/PRPhotos/BristolBritannia-2.htm - Boeing 707-138B (leased ca 1968)
- Boeing 727-117 (1969–1974)
- Boeing 727-217 (1970–1978,1984)
- Boeing 737-217/284 (1966–1981)
- Boeing 737-3D1 (1983)
- Boeing 747-1D1 (1973–1987)
- Boeing 747-211B(1978–1987)
- Boeing 767-217ER (1984–1985)
- Bristol BritanniaBristol BritanniaThe Bristol Type 175 Britannia was a British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the British Empire...
314 - Convair CV 240 (used on Northern Canadian routes) http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1962/1962%20-%200561.html
- Curtiss Wright C-46F CommandoC-46 CommandoThe Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando was a transport aircraft originally derived from a commercial high-altitude airliner design. It was instead used as a military transport during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces as well as the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps under the designation R5C...
http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Transports/CurtissC46CPA.htm - Canadair CL-4 North Star C-4-1 http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/Trempe/2040.htm
- de Havilland D.H.89A Dragon RapideDe Havilland Dragon RapideThe de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide was a British short-haul passenger airliner of the 1930s.-Design and development:Designed by the de Havilland company in late 1933 as a faster and more comfortable successor to the DH.84 Dragon, it was in effect a twin-engined, scaled-down version of the...
http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/Coates/3458.htm - de Havilland CometDe Havilland CometThe de Havilland DH 106 Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner to reach production. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland at the Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom headquarters, it first flew in 1949 and was a landmark in aeronautical design...
- de Havilland Canada DHC-3 OtterDe Havilland Canada DHC-3 OtterThe de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada. It was conceived to be capable of performing the same roles as the earlier and highly successful Beaver, but was overall a larger aircraft.-Design and...
http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Transports/DHCOtter.htm - Douglas C-54A-10-DC
- Douglas DC-3Douglas DC-3The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/Trempe/2469.htm - Douglas DC-4Douglas DC-4The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...
- Douglas DC-6Douglas DC-6The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range...
http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Transports/DC6-CPA.htm - Douglas DC-8Douglas DC-8The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engined narrow-body passenger commercial jet airliner, manufactured from 1958 to 1972 by the Douglas Aircraft Company...
-40 (1961–1980) - Douglas DC-8Douglas DC-8The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engined narrow-body passenger commercial jet airliner, manufactured from 1958 to 1972 by the Douglas Aircraft Company...
-50 (1965–1966) - Douglas DC-8Douglas DC-8The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engined narrow-body passenger commercial jet airliner, manufactured from 1958 to 1972 by the Douglas Aircraft Company...
-63 (1968–1983) - Douglas DC-10-30 (1977–1987)
- Lockheed 18 C-60A LodestarLockheed LodestarThe Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar was a passenger transport aircraft of the World War II era.-Design and development:The prototype of the Lockheed Model 18, which first flew in 1939, was constructed from one of a batch of Lockheed Model 14 Super Electras which had been returned to the manufacturer by...
http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Transports/Model18.htm
List is incomplete and uses data primarily from the Boeing Sales Database http://active.boeing.com/commercial/orders/index.cfm.
Accidents and incidents
There were 12 major incidents aboard CP Air aircraft with a total of 234 fatalities.- September 9, 1949: A Douglas DC-3Douglas DC-3The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
exploded in mid-flight en route from Quebec CityQuebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
to Baie-Comeau as the result of an onboard bomb, killing all 23 on board. See Albert Guay affair. - December 22, 1950: (CP004) Douglas DC-3Douglas DC-3The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
struck a mountain in the OkanaganOkanaganThe Okanagan , also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as Okanagan Country is a region located in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. As of 2009, the region's population is approximately 350,927. The...
of British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
while on landing approach. 2 of 18 passengers/crew killed. - July 21, 1951 – A Douglas DC-4Douglas DC-4The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...
departed Vancouver, British Columbia for Anchorage, AlaskaAnchorage, AlaskaAnchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
but disappeared en route without a trace1951 Canadian Pacific Douglas DC-4 disappearanceThe 1951 Canadian Pacific Douglas DC-4 disappearance occurred on the 21 July 1951 when a Douglas DC-4 four-engined piston airliner registered CF-CPC of Canadian Pacific Air Lines disappeared on a scheduled flight for the United Nations from Vancouver, Canada to Tokyo, Japan...
. Eventually, all 37 on board would be declared legally dead. - March 3, 1953: De Havilland DH-106 CometDe Havilland CometThe de Havilland DH 106 Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner to reach production. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland at the Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom headquarters, it first flew in 1949 and was a landmark in aeronautical design...
crashed on takeoff from Karachi, Pakistan. All 11 passengers/crew were killed. - August 29, 1956: (CP307) Douglas DC-6Douglas DC-6The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range...
B crashed when it missed the landing due to pilot error near Cold Bay, AlaskaCold Bay, AlaskaCold Bay is a city in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska, United States.Cold Bay is one of the main commercial centers of the Alaska Peninsula, and is home to Cold Bay Airport.-History:...
. 15 of 22 passengers/crew killed. - July 22, 1962: (CP301Canadian Pacific Flight 301The Canadian Pacific Flight 301 was a scheduled flight from Honolulu, Hawaii to Nadi, Fiji. On 22 July 1962 it was being operated by a Bristol Britannia 314 four-engined turboprop airliner registered CF-CZB of Canadian Pacific Air Lines...
) Bristol Britannia 314Bristol BritanniaThe Bristol Type 175 Britannia was a British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the British Empire...
crashed in Honolulu, HawaiiHonolulu, HawaiiHonolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
. 27 of 40 passengers/crew were killed.
- July 8, 1965: Flight 21 (CP21)Canadian Pacific Airlines Flight 21Canadian Pacific Airlines Flight 21 was a domestic scheduled flight from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada via Prince George, Fort St. John, Fort Nelson and Watson Lake on Thursday, July 8, 1965. The Douglas DC-6B plane crashed near 100 Mile House, British Columbia,...
Douglas DC-6B crashed near Dog Creek, British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
when a bombBombA bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
blew its tail section away. All 52 passengers/crew were killed. - March 4, 1966: Canadian Pacific Airlines Flight 402Canadian Pacific Airlines Flight 402On March 4, 1966, Canadian Pacific Airlines Flight 402 , struck the approach lights and a seawall during a night landing attempt in poor visibility at Tokyo International Airport in Japan. Of the 62 passengers and 10 crew, only 8 passengers survived...
(CP402) McDonnell Douglas DC-8-43Douglas DC-8The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engined narrow-body passenger commercial jet airliner, manufactured from 1958 to 1972 by the Douglas Aircraft Company...
crashed on landing in Tokyo, Japan at TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
's Haneda Airport due to poor visibility. 64 of 72 passengers/crew were killed. - February 7, 1968: (CP322) Boeing 707-138BBoeing 707The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
leased from Standard Airways (of Seattle) crashed into aircraft and buildings at VancouverVancouverVancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
while attempting to land in low visibility after a flight from Honolulu; 60 crew and passengers survived, but one flight attendant died, as did one person on the ground.
In addition, on June 23, 1985 a piece of luggage that had come from CP Air 3 exploded as it was being transferred to Air India Flight 301
Air India Flight 301
At 07:13 on Sunday, June 23, 1985 an explosion at Tokyo Narita International Airport killed two baggage handlers, and injured four. The bomb in that bag was intended for Air India Flight 301 with 177 passengers and crew on board, bound for Bangkok International Airport.-Bombing:Fifty-five minutes...
; the explosion killed two baggage handler
Baggage handler
In the airline industry, a baggage handler is a person who loads and unloads baggage , and other cargo for transport via aircraft...
s (Hideo Asano and Hideharu Koda) in Narita and injured four other people. The same kind of bomb was transferred on to Air India Flight 182
Air India Flight 182
Air India Flight 182 was an Air India flight operating on the Montreal–London–Delhi route. On 23 June 1985, the airplane operating on the route a Boeing 747-237B named after Emperor Kanishka was blown up by a bomb at an altitude of , and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean while in Irish airspace.A...
killing all passengers. The bomb exploded just over Cork, Ireland.
Some other incidents involving CP aircraft:
- November 1974: a Boeing 737 was hijacked in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. No fatalities occurred in this incident.
- May 1953: a ConsolidatedConsolidated AircraftThe Consolidated Aircraft Corporation was founded in 1923 by Reuben H. Fleet, the result of the Gallaudet Aircraft Company's liquidation and Fleet's purchase of designs from the Dayton-Wright Company as the subsidiary was being closed by its parent corporation, General Motors. Consolidated became...
PBY-5A CatalinaPBY CatalinaThe Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...
crash landed at Prince Rupert, British ColumbiaPrince Rupert, British ColumbiaPrince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and home to some 12,815 people .-History:...
with 2 fatalities - February 1950: a CanadairCanadairCanadair Ltd. was a civil and military aircraft manufacturer in Canada. It was a subsidiary of other aircraft manufacturers, then a nationalized corporation until privatized in 1986, and became the core of Bombardier Aerospace....
C4 overran the runway at Tokyo-Haneda Airport and plunged into Tokyo BayTokyo Bayis a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...
. All the passengers and crew were rescued. - January 29, 1971: Trans Australia AirlinesTrans Australia AirlinesTrans Australia Airlines or TAA, was one of the two major Australian domestic airlines between its inception in 1946 and its sale to Qantas in May 1996. During that period TAA played a major part in the development of the Australian air transport industry...
oldest Boeing 727-100 VH-TJA was operating flight TN592 from SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
to PerthPerth, Western AustraliaPerth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
. Cleared for departure on Runway 16 at Sydney, the underside of VH-TJA hit the top of the fin of CP Air DC-8-63 (CF-CPQ) which had failed to clear the active runway after landing. The top half of the DC-8 fin was broken off, and the B727-76 landed safely with a gashed lower fuselage. There were no injuries or fatalities.