Avro York

[DHC2eater]

In late Sept of 1955 an Associated Airways Avro York ...CF-HMV ...on a flight from a Dew Line site to Yellowknife lost its way and exhausted of fuel ditched in the Thoa River north of Uranium City!

Has anyone ever seen the supposed partially submerged fuselage or know if it was ever been recovered ? There is not a lot of info available in the archives

Eater!

[marlin]

I'm afraid I don't have any info about the possible wreck site, but found a couple of links with a little additional detail for anyone curious.

http://archive.is/RHdD (about halfway down the page, someone else looking for info)

http://www.bombercommandmuseum.ca/s,fm159york.html (an account of the accident/search and rescue)

Maybe shoot an email to Transwest, NWAL, or any other operator who flies in that area? Don't know if you'll get anything back, but never know...

Good luck!

[Spandau]

PM sent.

[DHC2eater]

Thanks.....heading to the crash site 2morrow with an underwater camera.....!

[DHC2eater]

Gdmrn 180guy....thanks for the PM and your interest....I'm replying on the general forum with the hope of generating some interest/info on the topic.

We just got back from the Thoa River the other day. Conditions and weather were perfect for this expedition..however we came up empty handed...

The coordinates recorded have no seconds so are general in nature and as you know,the area is vast so 1/2 mile out is huge.Back in 1955 mapping was poor and who/how were the coordinates determined. Our Spot Tracker did not agree with the map coordinates documented as to our location....who's right GPS or map Info....I would suggest the GPS...

We camped on a sand beach,of which there are many,and used a sonar/underwater camera on a boat to searched the area that we believed to hold the remains of the York...the bottom was 40-50 ft deep and uniform....I believe an aircraft the size of a York would show easily.....a few rock piles did.

We checked with a few old timers ..George Sewell..Garry Thompson... Cliff Blackmuir...on the way up and they had no recollection of the incident...not surprising given there age back then!

It is believed that Lloyd Reed( deceased) flying a Beaver for Associated or Norcan out of Uranium City at the time may have been the pilot who picked up the crew. His daughter and son in law who live north of Toronto are our next contacts...a long shot..GT Rowan is around but pretty young back then as well.

Next year is the Yellowknife Midnight Sun flyin and we will likely try again in conjunction with that function!

Any leads would be appreciated!

Thoa River

IMG_0881.JPG (866.15 KiB) Viewed 3204 times

Eater

[flaps78]

I am not sure how many crew survived. However, I believe that one pilot was Jerry Lossie. As a result of the accident he had prosthesis devices attached to both legs below the knees. Jerry went on to work for PWA Training and Standards YYR. I last saw Jerry at PWA Training and Standards YYR in the mid 1980's where he was employed as a B-737 ground school / sim instructor.

Flaps 78

[Antique Pilot]

I am not sure how many crew survived. However, I believe that one pilot was Jerry Lossie. As a result of the accident he had prosthesis devices attached to both legs below the knees. Jerry went on to work for PWA Training and Standards YYR. I last saw Jerry at PWA Training and Standards YYR in the mid 1980's where he was employed as a B-737 ground school / sim instructor.

Flaps 78

A very valiant effort there D. That York has to be there somewhere close to the basic Lat/Long but still easy to miss.

There were only 2 crew on the aircraft: Capt Joseph Cermak who died of exposure and FO Gerhart (Jerry) Lozie. Names are on the accident report file RG 12, Vol 1189, 5002-449.

AP

[180guy]

Very interesting ... great pic of your camp site.
I only recently learned of this Avro York story from the Bush Pilot Facebook Page.
Someone posted the Edmonton newspaper reports from around the time of the search and subsequent rescue. Quite a story. We should talk sometime ... I would be interested in learning more, maybe joining in on the search.

[DHC2eater]

Thanks for your comments!

Flaps78 ....that's a huge lead you've provided.I'm trying to contact some acquaintances that have spent time in the YVR training centre to try and track down Gerhardt or his family!

AP and 180guy I'll keep you advised of any further attempts which likely would be next year!

Eater

[Henk]

Looking for some online info about the crash in 1955 from Cermak and Lozie I could only find this post.

Did you find Gerhardt's family ?

(I am married to his brother's daughter and met Gerhardt a few times when he was working as an instructor and lived in Vancouver 1979/1981. He and his wife passed away)

[DHC2eater]

Hi Henk.....

I have done much research and tracking on people related the partys involved! I was at or near the crash site last summer !
I have/had a lot of info from the past on this subject!

If you'd care to talk I can be reached at 306-596-6731

Eater

[robstitt]

Am writing the history of Spartan Air Services - they acquired Arctic Wings as a subsidiary to undertake DEW Line work. Spartan purchased 12 Yorks from the British Air Ministry to conduct freighting, keeping four while the balance were passed to Associated Airways and to Maritime Central for the same task.

Most were written off within two years, there being no way to repair even those that were still accessible.

I spoke with Gerhardt a number of years ago when he was living in Burnaby.

Re York CF-HMV, the aircraft's nose rested on the bottom at a ~45 degree angle with the wing above the surface and the rear fuselage and tail gone. This put the extended flaps above and parallel with the water's surface and it's on one these that the poor first officer spent his time in the freezing conditions until rescued.

I have two shots of the exposed wing taken from opposing sides from a Spartan P-38 during the search with prominent shoreline features visible. Not mine to post but am happy to ask if I can share with 'Eater' if they would be helpful.

Robert

[robstitt]

My first post has not been approved yet but I found the relevant file and see I made a couple of errors.

Gerhardt Lozie was the first officer rather than the captain. He dived down to the York cockpit multiple times to extricate captain Cermak and was able to position him on a flap - sadly, Cermak died from his injuries and exposure two days after the ditching. Gerhardt spent 10 days and nights perched on the flap with the deceased Cermak before being found by PWA pilot Vern Simmonds.

Robert

[robstitt]

Now I can see both posts, the first actually reads fine.

Robert

[DHC2eater]

Robert.....

Could you please contact me via email.... dennisd@accesscomm.ca...or phone/text me at 1-306-596-6731

Eater