Date & Time:
Sep 29, 1955 at 1310 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 685 York
Operator:
Registration:
CF-HMV
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Cargo
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Shepard Bay – Yellowknife
MSN:
MW135
YOM:
1944
Country:
Canada
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
1
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The crew was returning to Yellowknife on a flight from Shepard Bay. En route, the crew became lost and after multiple attempts to establish their location, did a controlled ditching (at night) into a lake in the Thoa River area. The crew was unable to get to shore due to the water temperature and sat on the extended flaps, just 3 feet above the water surface. After 2 days the Captain died from exposure but the Co-pilot remained alive until rescued 10 days after the accident.
Probable cause:
The crew became lost in flight.
