害羞草研究所

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Wreckage of decades-old plane crash discovered on mountain near Harrison Lake

A team of Sts害羞草研究所檃iles Community School students helped discover the twisted metal embedded in a glacier
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The view from John Faulkner害羞草研究所檚 helicopter, flying over the wreckage. (Submitted photo)

There is precious little information available about an airplane crash in the Fraser Valley in April of 1957, but a melting ice field on a mountain towering above Harrison Lake may have revealed the 63 year old wreckage of Walter Dalton害羞草研究所檚 aircraft.

Dalton, a Vancouver real-estate executive, had two passengers on board on April 24, 1957 including radio personality and CBC reporter Fred McDowell.

He was flying from Penticton to Vancouver when his plane went down in an area that was noted for claiming aircraft. Over four months in that year alone, three planes were lost and nine people died within 15 miles of each other in the Hope-Princeton corridor.

With today害羞草研究所檚 airplane technology, it is relatively safe for a knowledgeable pilot to navigate over and through the wind-whipped peaks of the Cascade mountain range, but in Dalton害羞草研究所檚 day it was regarded as treacherous territory, described by some as the 害羞草研究所榞raveyard of lost planes.害羞草研究所

Some wrecks and bodies were recovered. Many were not, with rescue/recovery crews thwarted by dense forested terrain and dangerous flying conditions.

Dalton害羞草研究所檚 plane was covered by ice and snow at 7000 feet elevation and there it stayed, defying discovery for more than six decades.

One day recently, John Faulkner of Chilliwack害羞草研究所檚 Librico Helicopters provided a ride for a team of Sts-ailes Community School students, accompanied by an archaeologist and a UBC geo-scientist, dropping them off near the glacier field.

害羞草研究所淲e were on an archaeological trip in traditional Chehalis territory that has a lot of artifacts and historical/cultural significance,害羞草研究所 said the expedition leader Adam Palmer, a mountain skills teacher at Sts害羞草研究所檃iles Community School. 害羞草研究所淎s we were moving from one location to another, I saw something in the distance that looked like plane wreckage.

害羞草研究所淎s we start walking towards it, we saw this tangled mess of aircraft in the ice.害羞草研究所

Palmer has been up there many, many times and not seen the wreckage, but on this trip the timing was perfect.

害羞草研究所淭he snow level is at the lowest point it害羞草研究所檒l be all year,害羞草研究所 he said. 害羞草研究所淲hen we got closer we could see that, over time, it害羞草研究所檚 embedded in the ice. Over the years, the sun hitting the wreckage at certain times of the year has been heating it and causing it to melt further into the ice. Then it re-solidifies in the colder months.

害羞草研究所淎nd because a glacier is a river of ice flowing down, it害羞草研究所檚 been stretching and pulling and twisting it within the ice, to the point where the glacier and the aircraft have kind of become one.害羞草研究所

The sight, Palmer said, was an eerie one for many reasons.

Who knows how many times he害羞草研究所檚 walked right over top of the airplane during his expeditions, never suspecting it was there.

害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檙e on this archaeological expedition looking for ancient artifacts, and everyone was more interested in trying to dig to the bottom of the aircraft to see if there were remains of any survivors,害羞草研究所 Palmer said. 害羞草研究所淵our automatic response when you see something like that is, 害羞草研究所榃hat happened?害羞草研究所 It害羞草研究所檚 human nature that you want to know.害羞草研究所

When Faulkner and his helicopter returned three days later, Palmer害羞草研究所檚 crew told him about the wreckage. They snapped plenty of pics and video on the ground, and Faulkner took more photos from the air as they flew over the site.

When he got back, he told Blair Edlund.

Edlund operates an airplane repair business (EA Structures Ltd.) at the Chilliwack airport, and the story piqued his interest.

害羞草研究所淟uckily enough, the registration on the airplane tail was still there, as clear as day,害羞草研究所 Edlund recalled.

Faulkner thought the wreckage looked 害羞草研究所榝airly fresh,害羞草研究所 but when Edlund tried looking up the registration in the Transport Canada database he got no hit.

害羞草研究所淪o either this plane was really old or it was not registered for some nefarious reason,害羞草研究所 he surmised.

Shifting into 害羞草研究所榓mateur sleuth害羞草研究所 mode, Edlund started digging.

The only reference he could find to an airplane crash in that area came from a MacLeans article published in January of 1958, appropriately titled 害羞草研究所楾he Toughest Flying Country in the World.害羞草研究所

It references an airplane going down in the region.

While he can害羞草研究所檛 be 100 per cent certain this airplane is that airplane, it害羞草研究所檚 a very strong guess.

害羞草研究所淭ransport Canada害羞草研究所檚 digital archive only goes back to the late 1980s, so the MacLeans article was how I determined that yes, it was a recorded crash and there was loss of life,害羞草研究所 Edlund said. 害羞草研究所淚 spent hours trying to get this info.

害羞草研究所淎 lot of these crashes from way back when, they never get resolved. They just get frozen in time.害羞草研究所

This wreckage may get frozen once more as winter sets in and the glacier swallows it up.

害羞草研究所淚 don害羞草研究所檛 know what will happen with it,害羞草研究所 Edlund said. 害羞草研究所淭ypically, if it害羞草研究所檚 able to be removed it害羞草研究所檚 removed, but for all the time it害羞草研究所檚 been sitting up there, maybe they害羞草研究所檒l just leave it.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 probably only visible for two to four weeks out of the year, so it might be a while before anyone sees it again.害羞草研究所



eric.welsh@theprogress.com

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23064460_web1_201015-CPL-PlaneCrash1957-3_1
The wreckage has been melting into the glacial ice for decades and as the glacier has flowed downhill the metal has been twisted and pulled into a tangled mess. (Submitted photo)


Eric Welsh

About the Author: Eric Welsh

I joined the Chilliwack Progress in 2007, originally hired as a sports reporter.
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