ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 140424
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| Date: | Wednesday 18 December 1946 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide |
| Owner/operator: | Quebec Airways Limited |
| Registration: | CF-BBC |
| MSN: | 6307 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 7 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | St. Lawrence River, Matane, near Mont Joli, Quebec -
 Canada
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | |
| Godbout, Quebec | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
C/no. 6307: Floatplane shipped unassembled to Canada without UK C of A. (2 x Gipsy Six engines #6376/6377) Registered as CF-BBC [C of R 1840] 2.11.36 to Canadian Airways Ltd, Winnipeg. Registered [C of R 1852] 4.12.36 to same owner (to replace original C of R which was lost in a fire).
Sold February 1938 & registered [C of R 2198/A165] 28.3.38 to (subsidiary) Quebec Airways Ltd, Montreal. Quebec Airways was merged January 1942 into Canadian Pacific Air Lines, no formal ownership change.
Written off 18.12.46: forced landing on ice on the frozen St. Lawrence River, at Matane, near Mont Joli, Quebec. Canadian Pacific Airlines St. Lawrence Division superintendent W. 'Babe' Woolett quickly organized a search party utilizing every available aircraft he could lay his hands on. This included a Beechcraft C-45 Expeditor of the U.S.A.A.F. which had stopped off for fuel at Mont Joli. A pair of U.S.A.A.F. Boeing SB-17’s also took part in the search.
A single Grumman Goose belonging to Canadian Veneer joined the search. On Christmas Eve [24.12.46] Jimmy Wade and Pat Twist were conducting a search from Grumman Goose CF-BZY when they spotted three survivors of Les Mechins. The pair found enough open (ice free) water to put the aircraft safely down. They flew the survivors Sept Isles (known as Seven Islands back then). Three more survivors were found by Wollett, John Dart and Peter Gault who were searching from a DC-3. They dropped survival gear to the trio.
The three were relieved on Christmas Day to see the Goose show up, but their rescue effort was cut short. An SB-17 had dropped and air deployable life raft near the men, but unfortunately, it landed upside down and quickly filled with bone chilling water. With rough waters and ice to contend to, the rescue would have to wait. The Goose left before it too became a casualty.
On Boxing Day (26.12.46) the three stranded men were rescued who managed to walk their row boats out to them across the treacherous ice. On a sad note, one of the seven passengers onboard the Rapide was never found.
Registration CF-BBC cancelled 23.12.46. Note that the accident took place on 18.12.46, but many published sources quote the date of 23.12.46, based on the date that the registration was cancelled
Sources:
1. El Litoral 26 December 1946, p1
2. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh89.pdf
3. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?6939-Dragon-Rapide-CF-BBC
4. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh89-dragon-rapide-mont-joli
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_CF-2.html
6. http://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/15-aeroplanes/83-register-canada
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 14-Dec-2011 18:16 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 27-Feb-2015 20:19 | TB | Updated [Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 07-May-2018 17:12 | Anon. | Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative] |
| 17-Feb-2019 23:38 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Date, Time, Location, Nature, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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