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| Date: | Friday 29 July 1949 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH 89A Dragon Rapide |
| Owner/operator: | Queen Charlotte Airlines |
| Registration: | CF-BND |
| MSN: | 6375 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Digby Island, British Columbia -
 Canada
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Prince Rupert, Kaien Island, British Columbia |
| Masset, Haida Gwaii archipelago, British Columbia, Canada |
c/no.6375: DH89A Dragon Rapide Floatplane shipped unassembled to Canada with no UK C of A issued. (Gipsy Six engines #6742/6743). Registered in Canada as CF-BND (C of R 2641/A444) 8.9.39 to Quebec Airways Ltd, Montreal. Quebec Airways merged into Canadian Pacific Airways in 1942 but no formal ownership changes registered. Sold 9.5.47 and re-registered 2.6.47 (C of R 5826) to Central Northern Airways Ltd, Winnipeg.
Leased/bought in 5.49 to Queen Charlotte Airlines Ltd, Sea Island Airport, Vancouver; named "Tsimpsean Queen".
Written off (damaged beyond economical repair): Shortly after take-off from Prince Rupert, it forced landed out of fuel and landed in trees on Digby Island, BC 29.7.49 - no casualties reported.
During the flight first the right engine failed, followed by the left. During the emergency landing, the aircraft was completely destroyed, but nobody was hurt. The reason for the failure of both engines was lack of fuel. Most likely fuel was stolen from the tanks the night before the flight. The pilot had not checked his fuel supply before the flight.
Registration CF-BND cancelled 29.7.49. Remains stored on Digby Island and acquired by Western Canada Aviation Museum, Winnipeg for rebuild in the mid-1980s (circa 1984?). Believed stored [by 2004] at the Alberta Aviation Museum, Edmonton.
Digby Island is a small island immediately west of Kaien Island, and the location of the city of Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The island is home to the Prince Rupert Airport and the small community of Dodge Cove. It was named for Henry A. Digby, an officer on HMS Malacca.
Sources:
1. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh89.pdf
2. http://www.avcanada.ca/forums2/viewtopic.php?p=978686&sid=e45af47d032a1e1851708ed458063f6e#p978686
3. https://historicccar.ca/index.php?option=com_aircraft&task=details&id=3808
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_CF-3.html
5. Photo of CF-BND 1947: https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1774100
6. Photo of CF-BND 1948: https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1774098
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Rupert,_British_Columbia
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masset
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digby_Island
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 26-Jul-2023 19:28 | Roberto | Added |
| 09-Mar-2025 14:20 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Cn, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, ] |
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