Crash of a Consolidated B-24A-CO Liberator in Saint-Simon-de-Bagot: 3 killed

Date & Time: Apr 9, 1945
Operator:
Registration:
AM929
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
20
YOM:
1940
Country:
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
11
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
Fifteen minutes after takeoff from Montreal-Dorval Airport, while climbing, the engine number three caught fire. The captain decided to return to Dorval but realized it would not be possible. So he attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft crash landed in flames in a field located in Saint-Simon-de-Bagot, about 50 km east of Montreal. Two passengers were killed. On the ground, Mr. R. Plouffe was killed while trying to get to the burning aircraft. Electricity wires brought down by the aircraft caused his death.
Crew:
G. I. Voorhees, pilot,
David J. Mitchell, copilot,
F/Lt M. S. Ferguson, navigator,
Leonard William Smith, flight engineer,
E. A. Hunt, radio operator.
Passengers:
L. A. Ready,
A. E. Colato,
F/O Joseph Hall, †
C/O Douglas C Morrison. †
Probable cause:
Engine fire.

Crash of a Noorduyn Norseman in Great Slave Lake

Date & Time: Mar 3, 1945
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
CF-BXK
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
455
YOM:
1944
Country:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Enroute, while cruising in heavy snow falls, the pilot decided to make an emergency landing. On touchdown, the single engine aircraft hit an obstacle and came to rest. There were no injuries but the aircraft was sent back to Noorduyn for repairs but was eventually declared as irreparable.

Crash of a Canadian Vickers 28-5MC Canso ito the Saanich Inlet: 4 killed

Date & Time: Feb 12, 1945
Operator:
Registration:
9701
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
CV-282
YOM:
1941
Country:
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
While landing in the Saanich Inlet, the seaplane hit the water surface, ground looped and sank. Four crew members were killed while four others were rescued.
Probable cause:
The accident was blamed on glassy water conditions, and sun angle on the water.

Crash of a Canadian Vickers PBV-1A Canso A off Tofino

Date & Time: Feb 8, 1945
Operator:
Registration:
11007
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Tofino – Vancouver
MSN:
CV-285
Country:
Crew on board:
12
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from Tofino, the seaplane lost height and crashed 5 km east of Tofino. All 12 crew members were rescued while the aircraft was lost.
Probable cause:
Loss of control caused by an engine failure.

Crash of a Noorduyn Norseman in Sandgritt Lake

Date & Time: Feb 3, 1945
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CF-CPQ
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
437
YOM:
1944
Country:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
After landing on Sandgritt Lake, the seaplane hit rocks, overturned and came to rest upside down. There were no casualties but the aircraft was written off.

Crash of an Avro 652 Anson II in Bassano: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jan 21, 1945 at 1430 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
8627
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Location:
Country:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
During a navigation exercise, while cruising at a height of about 25 feet, the twin engine aircraft hit a ferry cable and crashed in an icy river located near Bassano. All three crew members were killed.
Crew (15th SFTS):
P/O Kenneth Leslie Sutton, pilot,
LAC Ian Robert Vidler, pilot,
F/Sgt Leslie John Tame, wireless operator.

Crash of a Consolidated B-24J Liberator off Bell Island: 11 killed

Date & Time: Jan 9, 1945
Operator:
Registration:
KH173
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Abbotsford - Abbotsford
MSN:
1329
YOM:
1944
Country:
Crew on board:
11
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
11
Circumstances:
The crew left RCAF Abbotsford in the day for a training mission over the Vancouver Island. En route, the aircraft went into a cloudy area and eventually crashed into the sea off Bell Island. Only few debris and personal effects were recovered but not trace of the aircraft nor the 11 crew members was ever found.
Crew (5th OTU):
P/O Thomas Henry Bastable,
P/O Robert Henry Burr,
Sgt Frank Cocksey,
Sgt James Brown Cuthbertson,
F/O Cyril Irwin Mitchell,
Sgt William David Newton Morgans,
Sgt Alan Simpson,
Sgt George Arthur Snelling,
F/Lt Kenneth Edmund Spence,
Sgt Peter Stead,
P/O James Francis Trickey.

Crash of a Canadian Vickers PBV-1A Canso A off Clayoquot: 9 killed

Date & Time: Dec 3, 1944
Operator:
Registration:
11086
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
MSN:
CV-421
Country:
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
9
Circumstances:
The seaplane was engaged in a maritime patrol mission when it crashed into the sea off Clayoquot, in the region of Tofino, Vancouver Island. No trace of the aircraft nor the crew was found and all rescue operations were suspended after few days. The wreckage was eventually spotted on July 1945.

Crash of a Canadian Vickers PBV-1A Canso A off Tofino: 10 killed

Date & Time: Nov 14, 1944
Operator:
Registration:
11017
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
MSN:
CV-295
Country:
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
10
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances into the sea off Tofino. Despite intense search, no trace of the seaplane nor the ten crew members was found.

Crash of a Douglas C-54A-1-DO Skymaster near Cape Saint George: 12 killed

Date & Time: Nov 12, 1944 at 0130 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
42-107427
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
New York-La Guardia - Stephenville
MSN:
7446
YOM:
1943
Country:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
14
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
12
Circumstances:
All along the route do Stephenville, the weather conditions were considered as good. While approaching the destination, the winds went stronger. Some ten minutes prior to the scheduled arrival time, by night, the four engine aircraft hit the slope of a mountain located near Cape Saint George, west of Stephenville. Nine occupants were killed while nine others were seriously injured. Few days later, three of them died from their injuries.
Source & photos: http://planecrashgirl.ca/
Probable cause:
It appears the pilot checked the weather often before and throughout the flight, but the aircraft was still blown off-course by high velocity winds. The pilot also failed to make proper use of normally functioning radio navigational aids to check the position of the aircraft prior to and during descent. The aircraft collided with the side of a hill at what is locally known as Garden Hill on the Port-au-Port peninsula.