The Convent Crash, also known as the Orléans air disaster and Villa St. Louis disaster, occurred on May 15, 1956 after a CF-100 fighter jet crashed into the Villa St. Louis in the community of Orléans, Ontario

Orléans, Ontario

Orleans , also written Orléans, is a suburban area within the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the eastern part of the city along the Ottawa River, about from downtown Ottawa. The Canada 2006 Census gave Orleans a population of 95,491. It became a ward of the City of Ottawa in 2001...

. 15 people were killed in the crash including 11 members of the Grey Nuns

Grey Nuns

The Order of Sisters of Charity of Montreal, formerly called The Order of Sisters of Charity of the Hôpital Général of Montreal and more commonly known as the Grey Nuns of Montreal, is a Canadian order of Roman Catholic religious sisters...

.

Events

At 10:37 p.m. May 15, 1956 two CF-100s were launched from their base at RCAF Station Uplands

RCAF Station Uplands

Canadian Forces Base Uplands was a Canadian Forces Base located in Ottawa, Ontario.-History:The Royal Canadian Air Force established RCAF Station Uplands as a wartime training station of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in 1942. The "No...

 (located south of Ottawa) to identify an unknown aircraft heading towards Montréal

Montreal

Montreal 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...

. The plane was identified as a RCAF North Star

Canadair North Star

The Canadair North Star was a 1940s Canadian development of the Douglas C-54 / DC-4 aircraft. Instead of radial piston engines found on the Douglas design, Canadair employed Rolls-Royce Merlin engines in order to achieve a 35 mph faster cruising speed. The prototype flew on 15 July 1946 and...

 flying from Resolute Bay

Resolute Bay

Resolute Bay is an Arctic waterway in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in Parry Channel on the southern side of Cornwallis Island. The hamlet of Resolute is located on the northern shore of the bay and Resolute Bay Airport to the northwest...

 to Dorval Airport. The two planes climbed to 33,000 feet to practice interception techniques and burn off excess fuel before returning to base.

One of the aircraft returned to base, but the other remained airborne longer to burn off more excess fuel. However, something malfunctioned on the plane. One story is that the oxygen masks of the two crewmen malfunctioned and the men lost consciousness, though the cause has never been officially determined. The plane descended at a speed of nearly 680mph and crashed into the Villa St. Louis.

Impact

At the time the plane crashed many of the occupants of the building were asleep. The three storey, seventy room building was run by the Grey Nuns

Grey Nuns

The Order of Sisters of Charity of Montreal, formerly called The Order of Sisters of Charity of the Hôpital Général of Montreal and more commonly known as the Grey Nuns of Montreal, is a Canadian order of Roman Catholic religious sisters...

. The two crewmen of the plane were killed instantly upon impact with the building. Then the fuel of the plane ignited and a fire

Fire

Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....

ensued. Some of the occupants of the building jumped from windows. Others remained trapped in the building frantically trying to open windows. Victims unable to escape their rooms died of smoke inhalation. The fire was extinguished in the early hours of the next day. Of the 15 dead, 13 were members of the convent.

External links

• http://www.history.ca/ontv/titledetails.aspx?titleid=79104
• http://www.bruyere.org/bins/news_display_page.asp?cid=11-113-3303&lang=1
• http://www.planecrashinfo.com/1956/195622.htm