Howdy,
I have a friend that asked me about getting to ~30 SE of YPC, N69 15 W123 24. His younger brother crashed in a Dakota in 1971 (Crash #123930). I don't have any experience with the western arctic. Any Aklak folks here that help. Anyone seen that wreck in their travels? He'd like to visit the site, if you have any tips to pass along.
Thx
edit: some reason the system doesn like the word "Paul-a-tuk"
Crash Site Near CYPC
Moderators: sky's the limit, sepia, Sulako, North Shore, Rudder Bug
Crash Site Near CYPC
It's better to break ground and head into the wind than to break wind and head into the ground.
Re: Crash Site Near CYPC
2 Nov.1971
The crash of a 440 Squadron Dakota aircraft southwest of Cape Perry, NT, kills the crew of eight.
IMAGE - Royal Canadian Air Force 414 Squadron Douglas C-47 Dakota KN256 (source:
Warbird Information Exchange)
Significant Dates in Canadian Military History-On The Calendar Anniversary.
Story of the Crash..."Fiery fate of Dakota 930" by Bruce Valpy ,Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Feb 01/06) - Dakota 930 was on a routine mission far into the freezing barrenlands on Nov. 2, 1971, when the unexpected leapt up and devoured eight good men.
At the time, 33 kilometres southeast of ......, the twin engine Canadian Forces Dakota was circling a downed plane - a single engine, six-seater Helio Courier piloted by Manley Showalter and owned by Nahanni Air Services.
Two days before, flying from Cape Parry to Yellowknife, thick clouds forced Showalter, a 10-year pilot, to land on a frozen lake. He knew where he was, but he was lost to the world until his signal was picked up by a military Twin Otter. He spent two cold nights waiting for help.
At 440 Squadron, then based in Winnipeg but in the process of transferring to Yellowknife, the 28-passenger Dakota 930 left loaded up with airmen and gear to fly north via Edmonton for Cambridge Bay, then fly west to assess Showalter's situation.
The next day, with Capt. Stan Gitzel, 28, at the controls, Dakota 930 returned with enough fuel and supplies to hold Showalter over until he could fly himself out.
The weather near ...... was typically bad. Finding a hole in the clouds, Gitzel made a circular descent, preparing for the supply drop out the Dakota's back cargo doors.
That's when something happened. The Dakota lost lift, went into a sickening flat spin and careened into the rocky ground.
Helpless, Showalter watched as crashing metal sparked the on-board fuel into an instant inferno. There was no chance to save anyone in the twisted plane shrouded in rolling black smoke, furious flames crackling in the frigid Arctic air.
In memory of the lost men and a salute to their valiant profession, Northern Commander General Ramsay Withers and Yellowknife Mayor Fred Henne decided to erect a monument on Dakota Court and name an adjacent street after the pilot, Capt. Gitzel.
Seven hundred kilometres north, another monument of mortar, stone and cement was erected, tipped with a chrome ball, a highly visible marker from the air.
This summer, Ray Healey, the brother of Dakota 930's co-pilot Cliff Healey, was on a Canadian Naval Reserve ship patrolling Hudson Bay. He was there as guest of his son, Captain Scott Healey.
Ray Healey still feels the loss of his brother. "My brother - his nickname was Hawkeye - loved the North," said Healey, with emotion. "He wanted to live in Yellowknife."
For the surviving Healeys, the place their brother and uncle died takes on the same significance as where he was born, raised and lived.
They and the Canadian families of the other seven men, with 20 fatherless children, are forever connected to the North.
As for Manley Showalter, his heart was broken for being a part of the fatal chain of events, as blameless as he was. He quit flying and became a driver for General Ramsay.
The crash of a 440 Squadron Dakota aircraft southwest of Cape Perry, NT, kills the crew of eight.
IMAGE - Royal Canadian Air Force 414 Squadron Douglas C-47 Dakota KN256 (source:
Warbird Information Exchange)
Significant Dates in Canadian Military History-On The Calendar Anniversary.
Story of the Crash..."Fiery fate of Dakota 930" by Bruce Valpy ,Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Feb 01/06) - Dakota 930 was on a routine mission far into the freezing barrenlands on Nov. 2, 1971, when the unexpected leapt up and devoured eight good men.
At the time, 33 kilometres southeast of ......, the twin engine Canadian Forces Dakota was circling a downed plane - a single engine, six-seater Helio Courier piloted by Manley Showalter and owned by Nahanni Air Services.
Two days before, flying from Cape Parry to Yellowknife, thick clouds forced Showalter, a 10-year pilot, to land on a frozen lake. He knew where he was, but he was lost to the world until his signal was picked up by a military Twin Otter. He spent two cold nights waiting for help.
At 440 Squadron, then based in Winnipeg but in the process of transferring to Yellowknife, the 28-passenger Dakota 930 left loaded up with airmen and gear to fly north via Edmonton for Cambridge Bay, then fly west to assess Showalter's situation.
The next day, with Capt. Stan Gitzel, 28, at the controls, Dakota 930 returned with enough fuel and supplies to hold Showalter over until he could fly himself out.
The weather near ...... was typically bad. Finding a hole in the clouds, Gitzel made a circular descent, preparing for the supply drop out the Dakota's back cargo doors.
That's when something happened. The Dakota lost lift, went into a sickening flat spin and careened into the rocky ground.
Helpless, Showalter watched as crashing metal sparked the on-board fuel into an instant inferno. There was no chance to save anyone in the twisted plane shrouded in rolling black smoke, furious flames crackling in the frigid Arctic air.
In memory of the lost men and a salute to their valiant profession, Northern Commander General Ramsay Withers and Yellowknife Mayor Fred Henne decided to erect a monument on Dakota Court and name an adjacent street after the pilot, Capt. Gitzel.
Seven hundred kilometres north, another monument of mortar, stone and cement was erected, tipped with a chrome ball, a highly visible marker from the air.
This summer, Ray Healey, the brother of Dakota 930's co-pilot Cliff Healey, was on a Canadian Naval Reserve ship patrolling Hudson Bay. He was there as guest of his son, Captain Scott Healey.
Ray Healey still feels the loss of his brother. "My brother - his nickname was Hawkeye - loved the North," said Healey, with emotion. "He wanted to live in Yellowknife."
For the surviving Healeys, the place their brother and uncle died takes on the same significance as where he was born, raised and lived.
They and the Canadian families of the other seven men, with 20 fatherless children, are forever connected to the North.
As for Manley Showalter, his heart was broken for being a part of the fatal chain of events, as blameless as he was. He quit flying and became a driver for General Ramsay.
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It's better to break ground and head into the wind than to break wind and head into the ground.
