Publisher Description

A gripping account of Western Canada's worst aviation disaster. Mount Slesse, a jagged 2,500-metre peak near Chilliwack BC known locally as 'The Fang' lived up to its evil reputation on December 9, 1956, when Trans Canada Airlines Flight 810 slammed into it, killing all 62 aboard. For five months nobody knew what happened. Flight 810 had just disappeared into the night. Adding to the sensation was the fact that the flight carried five professional football players fresh from the CFL All Star game in Vancouver and a mystery man by the name of Kwan Song who was rumoured to be carrying a sizeable fortune in cash. Finally on May 10, 1957, a diminutive female mountaineer named Elfrida Pigou discovered the gruesome crash site, setting off a stampede of macabre treasure hunters. It wasn't until May 25, 1995, that the BC government placed a protective zone around the debris field, declaring it a Heritage Wreck Site. To mark the fiftieth anniversary of this historic tragedy, Betty O'Keefe and Ian Macdonald have written a gripping, blow-by-blow account of western Canada's worst aviation disaster, carefully examining its context, causes and aftermath.

Author Biography

Betty O'Keefe was a Vancouver Province reporter for seven years in the 1950s, working as children's columnist, features writer and church editor. She then worked in corporate communications for 15 years and was commissioned to write two corporate biographies: Brenda: The Story of a Mine and The Mines of Babine Lake. Betty was the first woman to head the public-relations committee for the Mining Association of BC and the first woman to chair the information department of the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association.

Table of Contents

Introduction; A Spectacular-and Deadly-Landscape; The Storm of '56; An Ugly Football Game; The Flight 810 Crew; The North Star; Anxious from the Outset; The Flight; The Search Begins; Sixty Planes on the Search; Hope Dwindles; Ground Search; Snow Obliterates Everything; Crash Site Discovered; Paddy Sherman's Scoop; The Stark Impact Scene; McDonald's Inquest; A Hair-Raising Climb; "We Commit Their Bodies"; The Inquiry Board Report; What If?; TCA Builds a Monument; A Living Memorial; Preserving the Site; Major Philip Edwin Gower, MC; Archaeological Study; Vivian Clarke's Resting Place; Another Mountain Claims Elfrida Pigou.

Review

"Betty O'Keefe and Ian Macdonald tell the heart-rending story in gripping fashion... Rich in detail...Disaster on Mount Slesse makes for poignant reading and is a fitting tribute to the memory of those whose resting place is high on the peaceful slope of a mountain."
--Gord McNulty, The Hamilton Spectator

Long Description

Mount Slesse, a jagged 2,500-metre peak near Chilliwack BC known locally as "The Fang," lived up to its evil reputation on December 9, 1956, when Trans Canada Airlines Flight 810 slammed into it, killing all 62 aboard. For five months nobody knew what happened. Flight 810 had just disappeared into the night. Adding to the sensation was the fact that the flight carried five professional football players fresh from the CFL All Star game in Vancouver and a mystery man by the name of Kwan Songwho was rumoured to be carrying a sizeable fortune in cash. Finally on May 10, 1957, a diminutive female mountaineer named Elfrida Pigou discovered the gruesome crash site, setting off a stampede of macabre treasure hunters. It wasn't until May 25, 1995, that the BC government placed a protective zone around the debris field, declaring it a Heritage Wreck Site. To mark the fiftieth anniversary of this historic tragedy, Betty O'Keefe and Ian Macdonald have written a gripping, blow-by-blow account of western Canada's worst aviation disaster, carefully examining its context, causes and aftermath.

Review Quote

"Betty O'Keefe and Ian Macdonald tell the heart-rending story in gripping fashion... Rich in detail...Disaster on Mount Slesse makes for poignant reading and is a fitting tribute to the memory of those whose resting place is high on the peaceful slope of a mountain." --Gord McNulty, The Hamilton Spectator

Description for Reader

Betty O'Keefe is a journalist in Vancouver. She has collaborated on ten popular history books with Ian MacDonald including The Mulligan Affair: Top Cop on the Take and The Final Voyage of the Princess Sophia.

Details