ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 220349
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| Date: | Monday 31 July 1950 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Avro Lancaster Mk 10 MP |
| Owner/operator: | Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) |
| Registration: | KB965 |
| MSN: | 37266 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 9 / Occupants: 9 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Alert, Nunavut -
 Canada
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Thule, Greenland |
| Thule, Greenland | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
On July 31, 1950, Lancaster KB965 of 405 (MR) Sqn, RCAF, was tasked to make supply drops at joint weather stations Alert and Eureka, Northwest Territories (now Nunavut). The container for Alert had mail, fresh food, tools and parts for a bulldozer required to establish a landing strip. When the container was pushed out of the side door of the aircraft, the parachute opened early and became entangled in the tail, fouling the elevator. Control was lost and the Lancaster dove into the tundra from approximately 500 feet and exploded. The seven crew and two passengers were killed. They are buried near the Arctic Ocean, their graves marked with nine wooden crosses.
The RCAF immediately prohibited any further side door drops except in emergencies, and only if trained flight-safety technicians were onboard.
W/C David French, (P), OC 405 Sqn
F/L Lorne MacLean, (N)
F/L Joseph Swinton, (RO)
F/O Joseph Dube, (N)
F/O James McCutcheon, (RO)
F/O Thomas Martin, (CP)
LAC Robert Sprange, (FE)
Col Charles J Hubbard, US Weather Bureau
Dr. D.W. Kirk, Federal Dept. of Mines
Sources:
The Montreal Gazette August 1, 1950
https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2021/mdn-dnd/D12-16-10-2-eng.pdf
https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/a-memory-of-sacrifice
https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-avro-683-lancaster-alert-afb-9-killed
http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=33171&hilit=lancaster+canada
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Dec-2018 20:29 | TB | Added |
| 30-Dec-2018 20:46 | TB | Updated [Aircraft type, Source, Narrative] |
| 02-Nov-2020 15:50 | TB | Updated [Date, Source] |
| 02-Nov-2020 15:51 | TB | Updated [Narrative] |
| 04-Feb-2022 07:10 | Cosmo | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |
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