TYH Crash Site

[bigfssguy]

FSS

The PMQ's you used to live in and most of the other buildings from the base are gone as well as the old tower and hangers. We are now in a new tower right in the NW corner of the Main Ramp in between 15/33 and 07/25. All thats left of the base are the 2 big hangers on the main ramp and another 2 buildings in betwwen them, the PPC storage building in back (Can't dispose of the stuff) 3 hangers on the and one quonset hut at the old ramp where the old tower ws. And one solitary bulding at the end of old taxiway D. As for miss Piggy they actually made it a tourist attraction. Tourist come up and go stand on it and get there picture taken with it. It was also in used in a "B" movie years back too. It's amazing the uses you have with an old crashed plane.

[Clampers]

GPS Co-ordinates for the DC3 near Shamattawa are:

N55 58.18
W92 31.65

CZTM 297 @ 16NM

[Wringer]

Flying into YTH the other day I came across an old crash site about 20miles south east of the airport. Looked like a DC3 or something similar. Surprisingly, it was pretty much in one piece. I managed to get a few good pics of it. Anyone know of the history of the crash? Or how about other interesting sites to be viewed from the air?

Cheers

I found this thread while searching for some Lambair aircraft photos. (Looking for pictures of CF-OOL (or C-FOOL) when it was on `intermediate main wheels' and a small nose wheel with the `Wardair Ski')

Unless someone else has crashed in that area - near Pikwitonei - that is a C-46 that was operated by Ilford Riverton. At the time of the crash Lambair wasn't operating C-46's yet. (I was flying a Twin Otter for Lambs back then)
From what I remember (30+ years ago) Ilford Riverton had bid on a contract to fly in freight for the Hudson's Bay Co. to Oxford house out of Winnipeg. They got the contract and then trucked the freight to Thompson and loaded it on to the C46 to fly into Oxford House. It was a slick operation. All the freight was on pallets. It came off the back of the truck right into the back of the C46 where a few guys and a pallet mover moved it `uphill' and tied it in.
They could turn the airplane around - loading around 10,000 lb (? never flew the C46) - in under an hour.

As has been said here already - at the time of the crash - the C46 was carrying bulk fuel. Outbound to Oxford House they lost an engine - the `good one'. Supposedly they dumped fuel - whether it was the bulk fuel load or the aircraft's fuel supply I never found out. In any case they couldn't maintain altitude on the way back to YTH and crashed into the bush.

As I heard it both pilots were ejected through the cockpit green house and were picked up shortly afterwards. At the hospital in YTH the Captain was released and the First Officer was kept over night for observation.

Seeing how well the C46 operation worked for Ilford Riverton Lambair acquired one or 2 C46's. - I had left Lambair by that time so not sure of the exact numbers. Lambair lost `Miss Piggy' when it crashed short of runway 15 (or whatever it is now) in YYQ after an engine failure.

[fly228]

..........

[bizjets101]

The thread topic, TYH crash site - most likely C-FBKX, operated by Ontairo Central Airlines - February 15th 1983 crash.

http://www.aviation-safety.net/database ... 19830215-1

Photo by N181CS AvCanada

C-FBKX.jpg (100.22 KiB) Viewed 1501 times

and the 2nd C-46 Crash of Lambair C-GYHT crash November 13th 1979

http://aviation-safety.net/database/rec ... 19791113-0

Lambair C-46F Commando

C-GHYT.jpg (51.06 KiB) Viewed 1501 times

[Kabloona]

BKX is by ZTM, there is another crash site south east of YTH with a C-46. For a such a large machine it can be difficult to spot. Nice pics BTW.

[bizjets101]

'Curtiss C-46C CF-CZH (c/n 22515) of North Coast Air Services was written off 24km [15mls] SE of Thompson,MAN on September 27th 1977 when it lost height due to engine problems and was force-landed in trees, while trying to return to the airport.'

http://aviation-safety.net/database/rec ... 19770929-2

Written by Martin Bluethner redarding his dad - Captain flying at the time of the accident;


"This is what I remember Dad telling me about the crash....
They were doing a fuel run out of Thompson Manitoba when a short time after take off the starboard engine caught fire. They shut the engine off, feathered the prop and turned around. They were still loosing altitude, so the co-pilot went back to dump some fuel out the back door...
Just as Dad was thinking that it was time to switch fuel tanks on the port engine (the fuel gauge was not working) the co-pilot came running back into the cockpit screaming that there was a fire in the belly of the plane. The co-pilot went down into the belly with a fire extinguisher and flashlight looking for a fire. But there was none: it was the smoke from the starboard engine that was snaking its way under the belly of the plane that he saw when he opened the back door.
Shortly after all of that excitement, the port engine died of fuel starvation...
Dad tried to switch tanks and restart it but to no avail. They feathered the props on that engine and prepared themselves for impact. The co-pilot strapped himself in again and covered his face with pillows.
Dad said that it all went in slow motion from there. He said that the tops of the trees were very soft. He passed out on impact. When he came to, he was dangling from his seatbelt, a dozen feet above the ground, where the co-pilot was yelling at him, urging them to get away before the whole thing exploded!
He undid his belt and tumbled to the ground. They hobbled off through swamp, stopping once for Dad to wipe the jet fuel out of his backside, where a chopper came to meet them. The chopper did not actually land, it just hovered a foot above the swampy ground while they got on (Dad was impressed by this).
The co-pilot came out without a scratch. Dad walked away with a few less teeth and a gash on his lower leg. They were very lucky. Pictures of the crash show a large tree between the pilot and co-pilot's seats. The jet fuel must have all gone straight out the front, avoiding the hot engines...
I do remember a reading a write up about it in some aviation journal, but I don't think I ever got a copy of it.'

photo by Ray Stickel (1993)

CF-CZH.jpg (77.37 KiB) Viewed 1472 times