Crash Details
A twin-engine airplane departed Cambridge Bay on a mercy flight destined for Yellowknife, carrying two Inuit patients and a nurse. The aircraft crashed under unknown circumstances near Hottah Lake, in the region of Great Bear Lake, approximately 300 kilometers north of Yellowknife.
Casualties and Survivors
The nurse and one patient were killed in the crash. The pilot and the second patient, a 14-year-old boy, sustained injuries. The pilot suffered broken bones, and the boy helped keep him alive by building a fire and a shelter. The pilot resorted to consuming flesh from one of the deceased passengers, while the boy did not. About three weeks after the accident, the boy died from hunger and cold.
Rescue
On December 7, 1972, a Hercules aircraft on a routine mission detected the emergency locator transmitter (ELT) of the crashed plane. Shortly thereafter, two rescue specialists were dropped at the site. Unfortunately, only the pilot was found alive.