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aircraft crash site
- Thread starter eric-klr
- Start date
Finally made it out to the DC-6 crash site . It was on a flight from Vancouver to Whitehorse Yukon . Near 100 Mile House a bomb was set off in the tail lavatory. The plane went down with all passengers & crew lost. I've put the pictures in the gallery but I don't know how to get them into this post.
Aquafire
New member
Cool! Thanks for posting this Eric! I had no idea of this story. Hopefully this link will take others directly to the pics:
http://www.dualsportbc.com/photogal...869-cp-air-dc-6-crash-site100-mile-house.html
http://www.dualsportbc.com/photogal...869-cp-air-dc-6-crash-site100-mile-house.html
Aquafire
New member
Here's an eerie coincidence: I found a picture of that same aircraft ("Empress of the City of Buenos Aires") prior to CP buying it from Cunard Eagle. It would be a sick joke if it wasn't real- look at what it's call sign was, in light of the fact that after the crash a massive fire consumed the fuselage. Spooky.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bostonwhaler/2714806614/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bostonwhaler/2714806614/
Hard to find....?
Hard to find....?
Ooops had to resubmit as I did not click "instant email" for the reply.
Cheers...
Hard to find....?
Ooops had to resubmit as I did not click "instant email" for the reply.
Cheers...
Hey there Eric, very interesting stuff.
I lived and worked in WL for 13 years, travelling throughout the area for my work and pleasure and I had never heard of this site. Is it easy to find, are there directions posted somewhere?
I'm heading out on my Wee for the long weekend and I may want to add this to my sites to visit.
Thanks!
Ps: I found the GPS coordinates. 51 35 46 121 45 49 or 10 U 585639 5716842 UTM.
Just west of 100 Mile House via the Dog Creek 1100 Road.
Can you ride right to it or is there some hiking involved....?
I lived and worked in WL for 13 years, travelling throughout the area for my work and pleasure and I had never heard of this site. Is it easy to find, are there directions posted somewhere?
I'm heading out on my Wee for the long weekend and I may want to add this to my sites to visit.
Thanks!
Ps: I found the GPS coordinates. 51 35 46 121 45 49 or 10 U 585639 5716842 UTM.
Just west of 100 Mile House via the Dog Creek 1100 Road.
Can you ride right to it or is there some hiking involved....?
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Hey Scharfg , those coordinates are for the engine cowling and memorial site . The tail is at 51 35 922 121 45 705 It is about a 20 min. hike south from the cowling and you cross a small swamp . There is also wreckage at 51 36 412 121 46 148 If you go to these coordinates on google earth you 'll see a large clear cut , on the west side is a creek ,west of the creek is a faint road running north/south . Go south on this road [ it's narrow and over grown] about 3/4 's of a mile , maybe a little more , there will be a road to the left that immediately drops down to a creek. Park here and walk across the creek and up the hill . The cowling is in the bush on the left side but it's hard to spot . Lot's of bugs , take the "deep woods off"
250ccforme
Member
Some info about the crash. Copied from the "Cassiar Do You Remember" website.
Angelo Pigatti and family perish in airliner crash
Angelo Pigatti, (a driller in the mine) his wife and infant daughter, residents of Cassiar, died on July 8, 1965 when Canadian Airlines Flight 21 enroute from Prince George to Vancouver, BC crashed 40 kilometres northwest of 100-Mile House. The cause of the DC-6B airliner in which all 52 lives onboard were lost has never been solved. Witnesses heard the crack of dynamite and saw the tail of the propeller-driven plane fall off and then saw debris trail from the rear of the cabin (the "debris" turned out to be people getting sucked out). The plane fell 5,000 metres. There was evidence of explosives found in the area of the rear lavatory. The accident investigation of the police became a criminal investigation. The RCMP never did indicate if a bomb was the cause of the explosion nor did they say if they suspected accident, murder or suicide. The final verdict - the RCMP reached the point in their investigation that the person responsible for the incident can never be identified so the investigation has been stopped.
Excerpted from public records.
Angelo Pigatti and family perish in airliner crash
Angelo Pigatti, (a driller in the mine) his wife and infant daughter, residents of Cassiar, died on July 8, 1965 when Canadian Airlines Flight 21 enroute from Prince George to Vancouver, BC crashed 40 kilometres northwest of 100-Mile House. The cause of the DC-6B airliner in which all 52 lives onboard were lost has never been solved. Witnesses heard the crack of dynamite and saw the tail of the propeller-driven plane fall off and then saw debris trail from the rear of the cabin (the "debris" turned out to be people getting sucked out). The plane fell 5,000 metres. There was evidence of explosives found in the area of the rear lavatory. The accident investigation of the police became a criminal investigation. The RCMP never did indicate if a bomb was the cause of the explosion nor did they say if they suspected accident, murder or suicide. The final verdict - the RCMP reached the point in their investigation that the person responsible for the incident can never be identified so the investigation has been stopped.
Excerpted from public records.
Hey Eric thanks for the detailed update. I'll be on day 1 of my annual Labour Day "last multi day ride of the year" event so I think I'll shoot for the easiest spot (ie: memorial site) as I'll be trying to make tracks and keep heading south to chase the last of the summer. I had no idea so much was out there spread around, I'll keep this info for when I have more time on my hands to explore the area.
Can one ride right to the memorial site (ie: is it easy to find the turn off from the 1100 road (about the 1146km board turn left at the intersection or should I turn left on that small road before the major looking intersection - page 15 of the Cariboo Backroad Mapbook 2nd edition))?
I tried mapping your coordinates but GE does not recognize the .000 format so I converted them to how many minutes the decimal equated to but the locations don't match your directions (ie; tail is ~20 minutes south of the memorial but my mapping shows the memorial south of the tail...?).
Does this GE image look correct?
Take care.
Can one ride right to the memorial site (ie: is it easy to find the turn off from the 1100 road (about the 1146km board turn left at the intersection or should I turn left on that small road before the major looking intersection - page 15 of the Cariboo Backroad Mapbook 2nd edition))?
I tried mapping your coordinates but GE does not recognize the .000 format so I converted them to how many minutes the decimal equated to but the locations don't match your directions (ie; tail is ~20 minutes south of the memorial but my mapping shows the memorial south of the tail...?).
Does this GE image look correct?
Take care.
Attachments
Hi there Eric, hope things are good.
I managed to find the site on Friday night, took one wrong road a bit too early. Thankfully it ended about 800m off the 1100 road so I knew that was not the correct one. I went a but further and it turns out a couple of KTM riders were just coming out from the access road onto the 1100 road so I knew I had the right one. Road was in good shape and I managed to skirt the puddles. I had to hop over about 5 smallish logs. I got to the left fork which goes across the mud creek to the site about 8pm which is about 2km off the 1100rd. I crossed the near dry creek and up the steep hill. I goofed and took the right turn first following it for about 10 minutes before I figured that was not where the memorial was. I turned around and stayed to the left this time and at the end of the short road I went left and then right and found the various pieces, very interesting stuff for sure, kind of eerie as well.
It was too dark to head out so I went a bit back to the main trail and past the left down the steep hill over the wetland and set up my cott for the night. The owls started to hoot which kept me awake for a while. I woke up at 0630hrs keen to get going and found out why I was a bit chilled overnight. There was frost on my bike and sleeping bag no wonder!
I decided to follow the ATV trail that goes right after you cross the mud creek and after about 18minutes of walking (ATV trail ends and then you follow a foot trail) I found the wing section, at least it looks more like a wing than a tail (thin at one end, thicker at the other with a hump in the middle for what looks like an engine). I took a left and made a circle back and then I took a right and circled back looking for more debris but didn't find any. I would have thought it would have been spread out all over the place but its either been picked up or veg has grown over it. I was also surprised how poor the access was when you figure they would have had a great deal of equipement to get all the larger pieces out for the investigation. I wonder how they got the larger pieces like the cabin and engine out as the access across that small wetland creek would have been too steep for a low-bed etc.
Thanks again for your help to find this kewl spot.
Ps: I made it to Seton Portage (the paintings are finished on the underpass) then my bike wouldn't start with the magic e button, so I had to bum start it and I rode it back to Lillooet where it stalled and there wasn't even enough juice to flash up my neutral light (this was Saturday evening). So I had BCAA tow it to Kamloops and I took the Greyhound home. Not sure but I figure its my alternator as the bike is an '09, sounds like big $$ to fix :0(
I walked to the end of the road (stay straight instead of turning left to go down into the mud creek) and it seems there was an old cabin or something there as there is one of those metal cook stoves and some flattened stove pipe at the end, I was hoping to find more debris but no luck. I had a look at your pictures and I didn't find that piece in picture #8 with the small airplain on top of it, was it with the rest of the stuff near the monument?
I managed to find the site on Friday night, took one wrong road a bit too early. Thankfully it ended about 800m off the 1100 road so I knew that was not the correct one. I went a but further and it turns out a couple of KTM riders were just coming out from the access road onto the 1100 road so I knew I had the right one. Road was in good shape and I managed to skirt the puddles. I had to hop over about 5 smallish logs. I got to the left fork which goes across the mud creek to the site about 8pm which is about 2km off the 1100rd. I crossed the near dry creek and up the steep hill. I goofed and took the right turn first following it for about 10 minutes before I figured that was not where the memorial was. I turned around and stayed to the left this time and at the end of the short road I went left and then right and found the various pieces, very interesting stuff for sure, kind of eerie as well.
It was too dark to head out so I went a bit back to the main trail and past the left down the steep hill over the wetland and set up my cott for the night. The owls started to hoot which kept me awake for a while. I woke up at 0630hrs keen to get going and found out why I was a bit chilled overnight. There was frost on my bike and sleeping bag no wonder!
I decided to follow the ATV trail that goes right after you cross the mud creek and after about 18minutes of walking (ATV trail ends and then you follow a foot trail) I found the wing section, at least it looks more like a wing than a tail (thin at one end, thicker at the other with a hump in the middle for what looks like an engine). I took a left and made a circle back and then I took a right and circled back looking for more debris but didn't find any. I would have thought it would have been spread out all over the place but its either been picked up or veg has grown over it. I was also surprised how poor the access was when you figure they would have had a great deal of equipement to get all the larger pieces out for the investigation. I wonder how they got the larger pieces like the cabin and engine out as the access across that small wetland creek would have been too steep for a low-bed etc.
Thanks again for your help to find this kewl spot.
Ps: I made it to Seton Portage (the paintings are finished on the underpass) then my bike wouldn't start with the magic e button, so I had to bum start it and I rode it back to Lillooet where it stalled and there wasn't even enough juice to flash up my neutral light (this was Saturday evening). So I had BCAA tow it to Kamloops and I took the Greyhound home. Not sure but I figure its my alternator as the bike is an '09, sounds like big $$ to fix :0(
I walked to the end of the road (stay straight instead of turning left to go down into the mud creek) and it seems there was an old cabin or something there as there is one of those metal cook stoves and some flattened stove pipe at the end, I was hoping to find more debris but no luck. I had a look at your pictures and I didn't find that piece in picture #8 with the small airplain on top of it, was it with the rest of the stuff near the monument?
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Hi Guy , Glad the directions worked out and you found the crash site. [good thing the v-strom quit in Lillooet and not 30k in the bush] If the large piece you found is the same as in my pictures it's the horizontal stabilizer . The toy B-17 was about 50 feet away from the cowling but hard to see in some bushes . I thought there would have been more large pieces of wreckage also. Maybe alot burnt up ? Salvaged for the investigation ? 46 years ago ! Frost in August !
Yes thanks again Eric. Sure right about that I did have some luck I guess. Yes that was the same piece, thanks for the clarification that its the rear horizontal stabilizer, I dont' know my plane parts very well. Ah ~50' away eh, I'll have to have a closer look if I ever get back. Yeah I think you are right must have burned quite a bit of it. Oh yeah it gets frosty up there early give the high elevation. Nice looking week for riding coming up too bad I'm like a sailor without a boat :0(
And I just had my wiring harness replaced in June to boot ($1200), I think its possed!!
Take care.
And I just had my wiring harness replaced in June to boot ($1200), I think its possed!!
Take care.
I'll check to see if I still have the route, something like ~32 or 33km board rings a bell....?
The first road I turned left down was the wrong one. After I jumped over a few downed trees I realized it was the wrong road (no obvious evidence of recent travel, grassed over), it was the next side road (further west) about 1-2km away? It was clear how far to go down the road (about 1-2km...?) as there was a ATV trail going off to the left and down a steep ravine across a small wetland (I went the Sept long weekend). You cross the ravine heading east, and go up the hill on the other side, near the top you will see the trail split left and right. The left side goes about 100m to a clearing, go a bit farther and you'll see some of the seats and the plaque. Take the right trail and go about 1-1.5km..? and you'll find the wing and other parts with vegetation growing around it.
I parked at the top of the hill and walked down the ATV trail. The main side road off the 1100Rd ends about 500m or so with some relic cabin stuff (ie: old stove) etc.
I camped at the start of the ATV trail and woke to frost the next morning!
Send me an email ([email protected]) and I can email you the Cariboo Backroads Map page scanned with the location identified which may help.
The first road I turned left down was the wrong one. After I jumped over a few downed trees I realized it was the wrong road (no obvious evidence of recent travel, grassed over), it was the next side road (further west) about 1-2km away? It was clear how far to go down the road (about 1-2km...?) as there was a ATV trail going off to the left and down a steep ravine across a small wetland (I went the Sept long weekend). You cross the ravine heading east, and go up the hill on the other side, near the top you will see the trail split left and right. The left side goes about 100m to a clearing, go a bit farther and you'll see some of the seats and the plaque. Take the right trail and go about 1-1.5km..? and you'll find the wing and other parts with vegetation growing around it.
I parked at the top of the hill and walked down the ATV trail. The main side road off the 1100Rd ends about 500m or so with some relic cabin stuff (ie: old stove) etc.
I camped at the start of the ATV trail and woke to frost the next morning!
Send me an email ([email protected]) and I can email you the Cariboo Backroads Map page scanned with the location identified which may help.
Nitrousbrian
New member
Hi, a friend and I rode to the site last summer after we checked out the airstrip at Dog creek. Here are my coordinates from my gps that we used. Check it out its pretty interesting.
Crash Memorial
51°35'26.94"N 121°45'30.12"W
Tail section
51°35'33.00"N 121°45'25.20"W
Crash Memorial
51°35'26.94"N 121°45'30.12"W
Tail section
51°35'33.00"N 121°45'25.20"W
Hey folks here some updated info:
1) Global TV news story of 2013 commerative plaque unveiled in 100 Mile House:
http://globalnews.ca/news/812601/crash-of-flight-21-near-100-mile-house-almost-50-years-ago-still-a-mystery/
2) Wreckage Photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bostonwhaler/sets/72157606409768825/
1) Global TV news story of 2013 commerative plaque unveiled in 100 Mile House:
http://globalnews.ca/news/812601/crash-of-flight-21-near-100-mile-house-almost-50-years-ago-still-a-mystery/
2) Wreckage Photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bostonwhaler/sets/72157606409768825/