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Trans-Canada Air Lines crash kills 118

Broadcast Date: Nov. 29, 1963

Trans-Canada Air Lines flight 831 has crashed outside of Montreal. As heard in this radio report, the CBC's Sheridan Nelson approaches the wreckage, making his way through the thick fog and the burning red trees. He describes the tragic setting as a scene of "almost indescribable devastation." There are no survivors among the 118 passengers and crew members who perish in the crash. As of this day in 1963, it is Canada's worst air disaster.

Trans-Canada Air Lines crash kills 118

• Trans-Canada Airlines' flight 831 left Montreal's Dorval airport for Toronto at 6:28 p.m. Four minutes later, the DC-8 jet crashed in the foothills of the Laurentians near Ste. Thérèse.
• Residents in the area described the fiery, loud explosion and crash into a muddy, tree-lined swamp. "There was this overwhelming noise and the sky was all red. We didn't know where to throw ourselves," Laura Lanctôt told the Toronto Star. "I thought it was the end of the world." (Nov. 30, 1963)

• At Malton airport outside Toronto, relatives of the victims gathered to hear the grim list of the dead. The Toronto Star reported that many of the passengers were businessmen; their wives stoically waited to hear the bad news. "The mothers remained composed: They read stories to the children, played with them and smiled; only their red-rimmed eyes and a tightness about their lips betrayed their inner fear." (The Toronto Star, Nov. 30, 1963)

• The 10-month-old plane was piloted by Capt. Jack Snider, a 19-year TCA veteran.
• The plane caused serious damage to the houses in the surrounding area. The Toronto Star reported that in one home, situated 300 feet (91 metres) from the crash, the plaster cracked and the plumbing wrenched from the wall. In local stores, the impact of the crash caused windows to shatter.

• TCA paid $7,000,000 for the DC-8 jetliner which could maintain a speed of 885 kilometres per hour at an altitude of 35,000 feet.
• Technical failure was cited as one of the main causes of the crash.

• Eight passengers had missed the flight due to a massive traffic jam in Montreal. In the downtown core, Christmas shoppers and rainy weather slowed the slow-moving streets. Gail McEachern was supposed to have been on flight 831. She told the Toronto Star, "I'll never complain about the shambles of Montreal traffic again."
• As of 2007, Air India flight 182 was Canada's deadliest air disaster. All 329 people on board were killed en route to London from Montreal.

Trans-Canada Air Lines crash kills 118

Medium: Radio

Program: Sunday Morning Magazine

Broadcast Date: Nov. 29, 1963

Host: Bruce Rogers, Bob Willson
Reporter: Tom Leach, James Minifie, Sheridan Nelson, Bob McGrath

Duration: 7:19

Last updated:
Feb. 28, 2008