Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810
Encyclopedia
Trans-Canada Air Lines
Flight 810 was a Canadair North Star
on a scheduled flight from Vancouver
to Calgary (continuing to Regina
, Winnipeg
, and Toronto
). The plane crashed into Mount Slesse near Chilliwack
, British Columbia
, Canada
, on 9 December 1956 after encountering severe icing and turbulence over the mountains. All 62 people on board died, making this one of the worst airline crashes in the world at that date; it still ranks as the 6th worst air disaster in Canadian history.
Due to the remoteness and difficulty of the terrain, the crash site was not located until the following May. Among the victims were five professional Canadian football
players on their way home from the annual East–West all-star game in Vancouver.
The remains are located in a highly inaccessible area and are protected from disturbance.
at 6:10 PM on 9 December 1956, assigned to fly the Green 1 air lane east to Calgary, Alberta, though the pilots asked for and received clearance for a routing via airways Red 44 and Red 75 instead, which took the aircraft past Cultus Lake and into a weather system called a 'trowal'. The pilots climbed to 19200 feet (5,852.2 m) by 6:55, when they experienced a fire warning indication in No. 2 (the inner port engine), which was then shut down as a precaution (false fire warnings in Northstar aircraft had been noted on numerous previous occasions.) They radioed Vancouver Air Traffic Control to notify them of the event ("looks like we had a fire"), requested a return flight path on Airway Green 1 back to Vancouver Airport (the flight path with the most favourable terrain for an aircraft losing altitude), but inexplicably made a left turn instead of a right one and wound up heading west-southwest 12 miles (19.3 km) south of Green 1 and straight into the border mountains.
At 7:10, the plane radioed that they were passing Hope
, and was given clearance to descend to 8000 feet (2,438.4 m). This was the last communication received from the plane. The plane was also being tracked by an American radar installation in Birch Bay, Washington
, throughout most of its flight after turning around, but at 7:11 pm the station lost track of Flt. 810 in the vicinity of 8530 feet (2,599.9 m) Mt. Silvertip just east-northeast of where the plane went down moments later.
The cause of the crash is given in the official report as being the combination of several factors with the main ones being icing of the wings and fuselage and the loss of No. 2 engine, but many questions remain, including why the aircraft turned away from Green 1 rather than toward it (and reporting to ATC that it was on Green 1), and why this was picked up by neither the pilot nor First Officer despite spirit compasses and several radio aids-to-navigation on board which should have made the error rather obvious.
As the aircraft flew straight into the third peak of Mt. Slesse well in excess of cruising speed – and crashed in remote and dangerously inhospitable territory – very little information could be gleaned from the wreckage itself as to the cause of what was then the worst aircraft calamity in Canadian history. The wreckage and remains of the passengers and crew were left on the mountain at the crash site (though body parts found during the Coroner's inquiry were interred in two common graves on the mountainside), and despite years of erosion and avalanche, remains of the aircraft can be seen to this day.
players on their way home from the annual East–West all-star game in Vancouver. Notable passengers:
Trans-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...
Flight 810 was a Canadair 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...
on a scheduled flight from 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,...
to Calgary (continuing to Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
, Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg 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...
, 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...
). The plane crashed into Mount Slesse near Chilliwack
Chilliwack, British Columbia
Chilliwack is a Canadian city in the Province of British Columbia. It is a predominantly agricultural community with an estimated population of 80,000 people. Chilliwack is the second largest city in the Fraser Valley Regional District after Abbotsford. The city is surrounded by mountains and...
, 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...
, Canada
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...
, on 9 December 1956 after encountering severe icing and turbulence over the mountains. All 62 people on board died, making this one of the worst airline crashes in the world at that date; it still ranks as the 6th worst air disaster in Canadian history.
Due to the remoteness and difficulty of the terrain, the crash site was not located until the following May. Among the victims were five professional Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
players on their way home from the annual East–West all-star game in Vancouver.
The remains are located in a highly inaccessible area and are protected from disturbance.
Summary of events
Flight 810-9 left Vancouver International AirportVancouver 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...
at 6:10 PM on 9 December 1956, assigned to fly the Green 1 air lane east to Calgary, Alberta, though the pilots asked for and received clearance for a routing via airways Red 44 and Red 75 instead, which took the aircraft past Cultus Lake and into a weather system called a 'trowal'. The pilots climbed to 19200 feet (5,852.2 m) by 6:55, when they experienced a fire warning indication in No. 2 (the inner port engine), which was then shut down as a precaution (false fire warnings in Northstar aircraft had been noted on numerous previous occasions.) They radioed Vancouver Air Traffic Control to notify them of the event ("looks like we had a fire"), requested a return flight path on Airway Green 1 back to Vancouver Airport (the flight path with the most favourable terrain for an aircraft losing altitude), but inexplicably made a left turn instead of a right one and wound up heading west-southwest 12 miles (19.3 km) south of Green 1 and straight into the border mountains.
At 7:10, the plane radioed that they were passing Hope
Hope, British Columbia
Hope is a district municipality located at the confluence of the Fraser and Coquihalla rivers in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Hope is at the eastern end of both the Fraser Valley and the Lower Mainland region, and is at the southern end of the Fraser Canyon...
, and was given clearance to descend to 8000 feet (2,438.4 m). This was the last communication received from the plane. The plane was also being tracked by an American radar installation in Birch Bay, Washington
Birch Bay, Washington
-External links:*...
, throughout most of its flight after turning around, but at 7:11 pm the station lost track of Flt. 810 in the vicinity of 8530 feet (2,599.9 m) Mt. Silvertip just east-northeast of where the plane went down moments later.
The cause of the crash is given in the official report as being the combination of several factors with the main ones being icing of the wings and fuselage and the loss of No. 2 engine, but many questions remain, including why the aircraft turned away from Green 1 rather than toward it (and reporting to ATC that it was on Green 1), and why this was picked up by neither the pilot nor First Officer despite spirit compasses and several radio aids-to-navigation on board which should have made the error rather obvious.
As the aircraft flew straight into the third peak of Mt. Slesse well in excess of cruising speed – and crashed in remote and dangerously inhospitable territory – very little information could be gleaned from the wreckage itself as to the cause of what was then the worst aircraft calamity in Canadian history. The wreckage and remains of the passengers and crew were left on the mountain at the crash site (though body parts found during the Coroner's inquiry were interred in two common graves on the mountainside), and despite years of erosion and avalanche, remains of the aircraft can be seen to this day.
Victims
All three crew and 59 passengers were killed, among the victims were five professional Canadian footballCanadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
players on their way home from the annual East–West all-star game in Vancouver. Notable passengers:
- Melvin Howard Becket, player with the Saskatchewan RoughridersSaskatchewan RoughridersThe Saskatchewan Roughriders are a Canadian Football League team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. They were founded in 1910. They play their home games at 2940 10th Avenue in Regina, which has been the team's home base for its entire history, even prior to the construction of Mosaic Stadium at Taylor...
- Mario Joseph DeMarcoMario DeMarcoMario Joseph DeMarco, was a former American college football, National Football League, and professional Canadian football player, and was one of 62 people that died on Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810, on December 9, 1956.Raised in Boonton, DeMarco started at offensive lineman...
former NFL player, player with the Saskatchewan Roughriders - Calvin Jack JonesCal JonesCalvin Jack Jones was a college football player for the University of Iowa. Jones is one of only two Iowa football players to have his jersey number retired by the school. Jones became the first Hawkeye, and the first African-American, to win the Outland Trophy in 1955...
player with Winnipeg Blue BombersWinnipeg Blue BombersThe Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League . They play their home games at Canad Inns Stadium, and plan to move to a new stadium for the 2012 season.The Blue Bombers were founded... - Gordon Henry SturtridgeGordon SturtridgeGordon Henry Sturtridge, was a professional Canadian football player, and was one of 62 people that died on Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810, on December 9, 1956....
player with the Saskatchewan Roughriders - Raymond Nicholas SyrnykRay SyrnykRaymond Nicholas "Ray" Syrnyk, was a professional Canadian football player, and was one of 62 people that died on Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810, on December 9, 1956.Syrnyk played professionally for the Saskatchewan Roughriders as a rookie offensive lineman at the time of...
player with the Saskatchewan Roughriders
| Nationality | Crew | Passengers | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
 Canada |
3 | 44 | 47 |
 Hong Kong |
- | 4 | 4 |
| - | 2 | 2 | |
 United States |
- | 9 | 9 |
| Total | 3 | 59 | 62 |
See also
- Air safetyAir safetyAir safety is a term encompassing the theory, investigation and categorization of flight failures, and the prevention of such failures through regulation, education and training. It can also be applied in the context of campaigns that inform the public as to the safety of air travel.-United...
- Controlled flight into terrainControlled flight into terrainControlled flight into terrain describes an accident in which an airworthy aircraft, under pilot control, is unintentionally flown into the ground, a mountain, water, or an obstacle. The term was coined by engineers at Boeing in the late 1970s...
- Ground proximity warning systemGround Proximity Warning SystemA ground proximity warning system is a system designed to alert pilots if their aircraft is in immediate danger of flying into the ground or an obstacle. The United States Federal Aviation Administration defines GPWS as a type of terrain awareness warning system...
External links
- Winnipeg Free Press story about the crash
- Chilliwack Times article from 2006