ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 172530
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| Date: | Tuesday 28 July 1953 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Avro Lancaster Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | World Wide Aviation |
| Registration: | CF-GBA |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Menihek, Newfoundland -
 Canada
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Cargo |
| Departure airport: | Seven Islands, Quebec |
| Menihek, Newfoundland | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
On 25.08.1946, whilst returning to the UK from a "Goodwill Tour" of the USA and Canada, Avro Lancaster B.Mk.1 TW870 "TL-R" of 35 Squadron, RAF, was written off when it ground looped in a heavy landing at Gander, Newfoundland, killing 4 civilian spectators on the ground. The aircraft was struck off charge and abandoned where it crashed at Gander (see TW870)
It remained virtually derelict - and often vandalised- in Hanger 8 at Gander until October 1950 when it was sold for scrap to Hercules Sales of Toronto, then to Freight Lift Inc. The aircraft was repaired just sufficiently to be flown from Gander to Dorval via Summerside.
In Dorval it was converted to a fuel tanker. This included including the fitting of a nose cone that had once been part of a Trans Canada Airlines Lancaster X passenger aircraft – this nose cone had even been previously used as a chicken coup! After transfer in 1952 to World Wide Aviation (owned by a Ferry Command legend, Don MacVicar), it was registered as CF-GBA and moved to Seven Islands, Quebec. There it was used primarily to resupply outposts of the Iron Ore Company of Canada.
On one of these flights, on 28 July, 1953. the pilot, Capt A R Iba, lost control while landing in a crosswind on the gravel airstrip at Menihek, Newfoundland, about 100 km north-west of the Smallwood Reservoir. The Lancaster hit a rock pile, caught fire and was a total loss. The manifest showed an overloaded aircraft of 2,150 gallons of diesel, 300 gallons of petrol and 800 gallons of Avgas. Happily both crew members were unhurt.
Sources:
1. http://www.ganderairporthistoricalsociety.org/_html_4658/lancaster_tragedy.htm
2. Photo of wreckage: https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-avro-683-lancaster-i-menihek
3. http://www.bombercommandmuseum.ca/lanccanadian.html
4. https://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/488306-world-wide-airways.html#post7274002
5. http://www.goodall.com.au/warbirds-directory-v6/avro.pdf
6. http://www.airic.ca/html/pftplancaster.html
7. photo of wreckage burning: https://masterbombercraig.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/crashtl-r_menihek.jpg
8. History of TW870/CF-GBA: https://masterbombercraig.wordpress.com/post-war-raf-career/operation-lancaster-46/return-route/gander-departure/gander-incident/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Dec-2014 03:10 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 18-Jun-2021 19:21 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Source] |
| 18-Jun-2021 19:26 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source] |
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