ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 27250
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| Date: | Friday 19 October 1984 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Piper PA-31-350 Chieftain |
| Owner/operator: | Wapiti Aviation |
| Registration: | C-GXUC |
| MSN: | 31-7405136 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 10 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | South of Lesser Slave Lake, High Prairie, Alberta -
 Canada
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Edmonton City Centre (Blatchford Field) Airport (YXD/CYXD) |
| Peace River Airport, Peace River, Alberta (YPE/CYPE) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
On 19 October 1984, Canadian Politician Walter Grant Notley and five other passengers were killed near Slave Lake in northern Alberta when Wapiti Aviation Flight 402 crashed into a snow-covered, wooded hillside.
Four men survived, among them 27-year-old Paul Archambault, a petty criminal being flown to Grande Prairie to face a mischief charge. The cop beside him, Scott Deschamps, had removed Archambault’s handcuffs before the plane left Edmonton. It was a move that saved his own life a few hours later.
The Mountie was dying, trapped and suffocating under snow in the remnants of the plane. Archambault dug him free with his bare hands and then helped pilot Eric Vogel and provincial Housing Minister Larry Shaben get clear of the wreckage.
The crash was the subject of a book: "Into the Abyss: How a Deadly Plane Crash Changed the Lives of a Pilot, a Politician, a Criminal and a Cop" by Carol Shaben
Sources:
1. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/1984+Plane+crash+kills+leader+five+others/7412498/story.html]
2. http://www.scramble.nl/civil-database/details?bt=pa&af=1717
3. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-piper-pa-31-350-navajo-chieftain-near-high-prairie-6-killed
4. http://nationalpost.com/news/politics/chris-nelson-the-sad-forgotten-hero-of-the-grant-notley-aircraft-tragedy
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Notley#Death
6. http://www.airliners.net/photo/Wapiti-Aviation/Piper-PA-31-350-Navajo-Chieftain/2756236
7. https://www.scribd.com/document/163280930/Into-the-Abyss-by-Carol-Shaben-Excerpt
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 15-Feb-2013 08:37 | gerard57 | Updated [Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 12-Mar-2013 19:31 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn] |
| 21-Jun-2013 17:32 | Uli Elch | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn] |
| 15-Jun-2015 19:02 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 04-Oct-2017 13:32 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
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