We were inbound to the mine. Upstream that is. The mighty Iskut River has been laid to rest for the winter, cloaked in its shroud of snow and ice. Icy water flowed in her veins beneath .... she was still a dangerous viper.
We had aboard , sixteen hundred gallons of stinking diesel fuel to feed the mine's thirst of 4500 gallons per day. This was the return trip from Wrangell , Alaska , where we had flown the three huge bags of gold concentrate with a total weight of ten thousand pounds. The C117's two Wright 1820's growled away in unison , as we scooted along beneath a grey overcast.
Past the confluence of the Stikine and the Iskut Rivers we flew .Directly East now ... into the teeth of the wind.
"Delta Oscar Golf .. Hoodoo 1500 feet inbound" reports Rob as we both look left , up the steep draw ... to the HOODOO Glacier.The descending cold air from the glacier T-boned us with thumping , wallowing turbulence.
Around the corner , flying slightly East South East now we see the narrow gap through which we must fly in order to see the strip at Bronson Creek which will appear suddenly to our right.
But we are not at the gap yet. We are searching the river .. racing quickly through our check list in order to do so. I crowd the south bank . Visibility out of a Super DC3 is poor unless you bank the generous wing and engine cowl downward but then the sheer mountains on the other shore stare you down .. I bank away just as I caught a glimpse ..
It is easier to see the wreckage in the spring when the yellow and green metal lies awash in gravel. But today the cold East wind bares some of the remains ... already at the gap now and the wide gravel strip appears to Starboard ... Rob looks up the strip for any taxiing traffic ...checks completed with a quiet reverence ...into the widening bowl for the 270 degree turn to final. Gross weight ... slightly high on purpose .. even though a perfect approach to an uphill sloped runway looks high...Lots of power on .. not too much though , I don't want to rely a whole lot on power , some of which can vanish when you need it. Height is easy to get rid of in a loaded freighter ... but you don't want to set up a sink rate .
"V Ref plus ten" I have time to sync the props ...may as well make it perfect." V Ref plus five" calls Rob. Touchdown any second .. she squats softly onto the big oleos as the soft big tires touch the gravel with a slight check forward to keep the tail proudly poised...Eighty knots .. there are shapes in the snowbank .. out of the corner of my eye... to the left. Snow covered blobs . five or six . I am not counting now as I slowly lower the tail and slow down without use of brakes , uphill , engines idling up to the pumpout station. I exchange my fox -furlined gloves for the stinking diesel pair .. I ponder for a moment.
Donny never had a chance. The burning engine had already fallen off when the skilled Captain bellied the DC4 onto the gravel bar in flames. A mile or two short , he was . He wasn't quite at the gap yet and then a viscous right bank would have been required to line up with the suddenly appearing runway which was tough with everything going for you. He made a decision and saved his crew.
The brave Captain was missing , presumed drowned. Donny couldn't swim. The crew crossed the cold river and survived.
Back to work . have to unload the fuel , load three big frozen 3000 lb bags of gold concentrate bound for Wrangell , Alaska and do it all over again.