Vivid memories remain of fiery Argus crash of 1977

SUMMERSIDE It was March 31, 1977, and the weather couldnt have been worse as thunder, lightning, heavy rains and strong winds buffeted the military base here.

Carl Delaney, a young master warrant officer in charge of the military police at CFB Summerside, had just gotten back to the police office around 1 p.m., when he learned of an impending crisis.

A 415 Squadron Argus with 16 crew members on board was returning from a five-hour flight and would be attempting an emergency landing on the main north-south runway.

The 136-foot aircraft was flying on three engines after problems 400 miles from the base forced the shutdown of one engine.

The day was probably one of the most miserable days that I ever experienced, Delaney recalled of the fiery crash landing which claimed the lives of Maj. Ross Hawkes, Sgt. Ralph Arsenault and MCpl. Al Senez.

Senez, from Prince George, B.C., died at the scene. Arsenault, who was from Summerside, and Hawkes, from Calgary, died two days later, after being rushed to Victoria General Hospital in Halifax.

Eleven other crew members were injured. Four

members escaped without injury.

Delaney served in the military for 38 years. After retiring, he managed the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club for a number of years before leaving that position in February of 2007.

But on March 31, 1977, Delaney was an eyewitness to the crash. He took another officer with him and went down and got positioned next to the control tower.

The Argus came in and boy, all we saw when she came in front of the tower was the belly of the airplane, he said.

What the pilot had done was try to avoid hitting the tower, and since he was from Slemon Park and lived there, he didnt want to go into the school which was behind the tower. So he veered to the left and unfortunately he was going downwind instead of upwind and he couldnt get any height.

Delaney said from all reports, prior to turning away from the tower the Argus hit a snowbank, taking out another engine. That left only two engines for the pilot to try and avoid the control tower.

Delaney said the left wing of the Argus was too low and it sliced an Electra surveillance aircraft in half.

The Electra had just been refuelled and while no one was aboard, people were standing around it.

As I watched, the wing got smashed into the airplane (Electra), a piece of the wing fell off and the Argus actually righted itself and then fuel started spilling and ignited, Delaney said.

So as the Argus went down the taxiway, it wasnt even on the runway, the ball (of fire) was following it. When it (Argus) actually touched down, it hit some grass and the roadway and it actually split the airplane open.

Delaney said when the plane split it opened an escape route for some of the crew.

The crew that was sitting with their faces towards the tail of the plane, theyre the ones who saw the opening, he said.

Theyre the ones somebody shouted to get down on the floor and Lets get out of here. . . . Well, unfortunately, the ones (with their backs to the opening) didnt see this and the ball of fire caught up to them and burned whoever was left there.

Delaney said there was a civilian fire training exercise going on at the time and they watched the airplane crash.

The other fire trucks were down with us at the tower and what we did is we pulled out and followed the airplane, he said. And of course were

following the ball of fire as well.

Delaney said one crewman running down the runway had his ears burned off.

Paul Beattie was a young search and rescue technician for 413 Squadron stationed at CFB Summerside on March 31, 1977.

Beattie, who is now retired and living in Alberton, says

he was just stepping out of Hangar 3 when the crash occurred.

I had one foot out the door and one foot in and I looked up and all I saw was the bottom of an airplane. The wing was low enough to the ground where it was almost one wing up and one wing down.

He said that was when the Electra ice patrol aircraft was cut in half.

Seconds after that, the wing tip impacted the ground and it came to rest right behind the fire hall which was conducting a firefighting course, he said. They ran over and started putting people out. There was debris and bodies all over the place.

Bob Steele was a member of the crash response crew that day.

Now retired and living in Summerside, he said the winds were gusting in all directions along with the rain, thunder and lightning at the time of the crash.

They were coming in on the runway with three engines instead of four and the winds were so gusty and so variable when they came on the runway, it veered off the runway and into a snowbank, he

said.

He (pilot) elected to go back into the air and he put the power on. The righthand side of the aircraft had two engines running and the lefthand side had one engine running. What happens then is the righthand side is trying to pass the lefthand side and it corkscrewed towards the tower.

Steele said the collision with the Electra kept

the Argus from flipping over and it managed to land on its belly.

Steele said one firefighter went in the back end of the aircraft and put the fog nozzle on the hose, allowing many to escape.

He got a recognition for bravery from the federal government, Steele said.