Sixtieth anniversary of the crash of TCA 810

[India Four Two]

Sixty years ago, on 9 December 1956, TCA flight 810, operated by a North Star, was flying from Vancouver to Calgary. Shortly after takeoff, it was returning to Vancouver, in icing conditions, after shutting down No. 2 due to a fire warning. It deviated south of the expected track and while still in cloud, crashed into Mt. Slesse, near the US border, killing all 59 passengers and 3 crew.
http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o598/simonyouens/TCA%20North%20Star_zpsbpjehay5.png

About a month ago, I was driving east from Vancouver and prompted by a reference to Flight 810 on the current Lancastrian thread, I decided to make a detour off the Trans Canada Highway and visit the memorial to the crash:
http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o598/simonyouens/Slesse%20memorial_zpszoefpf41.jpg

The memorial is actually about 10 nm from the crash site, on Slesse Road, about 300 m off the Chilliwack Lake Road. There is another memorial on Mt. Slesse, that requires a serious hike to get to.
http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o598/simonyouens/Screen%20Shot%202016-12-09%20at%2001.08.23_zpsitq4ve88.png

Having visited the memorial, I decided to find out more about the accident. There are quite a few pictures of Mt. Slesse on the web, but this one, taken from near the Trans Canada Highway near Chilliwack, looking south,brings home how unlucky the flight was. The North Star flew from left to right, into the vertical east face of the mountain. A few hundred feet higher or left or right, and there would not have been a crash:
http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o598/simonyouens/Screen%20Shot%202016-12-08%20at%2018.10.48_zpss4ohztdr.png
~ Flight 810 Crash 50th Anniversary ~, a photo from British Columbia, Western | TrekEarth (http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/North_America/Canada/Western/photo529793.htm)

Slesse means Fang in the local Halkomlem language.

The east face, with over 6000' of vertical relief:
http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o598/simonyouens/SlesseMountain_zpshytr0suv.jpg

In spite of an extensive search, the crash site was not found until May 1957, when some climbers discovered the wreckage.


More details here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Canada_Air_Lines_Flight_810

and here:
https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19561209-1

This page has a description of the hike and pictures of some of the wreckage:
1956 Mt Slesse TCA DC4M2 Air Crash Debris Field - ClubTread Community (http://forums.clubtread.com/27-british-columbia/18246-1956-mt-slesse-tca-dc4m2-air-crash-debris-field.html)

I was quite surprised to see that Air Canada still uses 810 as a flight number.

[DaveReidUK]

I was quite surprised to see that Air Canada still uses 810 as a flight number.

Most airlines retire flight numbers in the aftermath of a fatal accident, but such niceties often don't survive the passage of time, particularly where mergers or changes of airline name (and designator) have intervened.

Closer to home, I can think of BA712 and BA911, both of which were BOAC flights that went down in the 60s but are currently in use by BA, likewise 548 and 706 from its predecessor BEA.

[DaveReidUK]

Closer to home, I can think of BA712 and BA911, both of which were BOAC flights that went down in the 60s but are currently in use by BA, likewise 548 and 706 from its predecessor BEA.

Having said that, I think I'm right in saying that the only post-merger BA flight to have been involved in a fatal accident (BA476 in the Zagreb mid-air) has never had its flight number re-used by the airline in the 40 years since.

Certainly BA's current LHR-Barcelona services (even flight numbers from BA470 to BA482) omit that one, which does show some sensitivity.

[evansb]

Some people in the know think a "false station passage" of the Hope NDB may have led the Captain to a premature descent to 8,000 feet.. The Hope NDB was known for erroneous signals during heavy precipitation and storms..

People have also questioned why the Captain turned right instead of left, on the return to YVR. I think it was the old aviator in him. He didn't want to turn into a dead (feathered) engine. Standard practice.

The Captain, Jack Clarke, was known to be overly cautious. He was known throughout the TCA system as "Granny Clarke". Captain Clarke flew bombers for the RCAF during WW.II

Rolls Royce Merlin engines certified for airline use were notorious for bogus warnings.

The Captain (Jack Clarke) was called in to replace the original Captain rostered for the flight.
It is now thought the original Captain slated for the flight was "hung over" because of exuberant celebration of the CFL (Canadian Football League) All Star Game, which was held in Vancouver the day before.

All Star players and their spouses of the CFL All Star Game were among the passengers of TCA Flight 810.

My father was a friend of Mario DeMarco, a CFL All Star player that died on the flight. DeMarco's #55 jersey is one of eight that has been retired by the Saskatchewan Rough-riders football club. My father had an acquaintanceship with the other CFL members who died on flight 810.

The storm that contributed to the flight's demise was quite intense. The core of the Low Pressure Centre was below 29.00 inches of mercury.

Aviation history continues to enthral.

[India Four Two]

bri,

Thank you for those very interesting anecdotes about the crash.

The Sports Network (TSN) made a documentary about the crash, mainly concentrating on the CFL connection of course.

It was available on YouTube - I watched it about three weeks ago, but it has now gone. However, there is a one-minute trailer:

N-4a2G9VlIc

The aviation part of it was not well done - laughable in places. I particularly like the shot of a Viscount with a piston-engine soundtrack.