8 fatalities

Flight 102 Disintegration Over Nova Scotia (CF-NAF)

Musquodoboit, CanadaFlight

On March 17, 1965, a Handley Page HPR-7 Dart Herald (registration CF-NAF) operated by Eastern Provincial Airways - EPA was involved in an aviation accident near Musquodoboit, Canada in flight. 8 people were killed. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: Failure of a corroded skin area along the bottom centre line of the aircraft beneath stringer No. 32, which resulted in structural failure of the fuselage and aerial disintegration. The precise nature and origin of the skin corrosion was not determined. This summary draws on records from the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A); 8 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

Sourcesthe Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A)Primary reportUpdated 2026-06-12Data APIEditorial standards

A scheduled domestic flight from Moncton to Torbay disintegrated in flight after departing Halifax for Sydney. Witnesses reported structural separation before the crash, killing all eight occupants.

Flight Details and Departure Flight 102 was a scheduled domestic service operating from Moncton, New Brunswick, to Torbay, Newfoundland. The route included scheduled stops at Summerside and Charlottetown in Prince Edward Island, New Glasgow, Halifax, and Sydney in Nova Scotia, and Deer Lake and Gander in Newfoundland. The flight departed Moncton at 0635 Atlantic Standard Time and proceeded routinely to Halifax, where a 36-minute stopover was completed. The crew reported no aircraft unserviceabilities during that stop. The aircraft departed Halifax for Sydney at 0910 hours. It was cleared to use runway 33, turn right, and climb on course to 13,000 feet via Victor 312 Airway to the Sydney omnirange station. After takeoff, the crew acknowledged a request to report reaching 13,000 feet. No further communication was received from the aircraft by air traffic control. At 0915 hours, the aircraft transmitted flight data to the airline's radio facility at Halifax, reporting a time out of 0908 hours, an off time of 0912 hours, and an estimated arrival at Sydney of 0959 hours. This was the last known transmission, and the crew reported no difficulty.

Probable cause

Failure of a corroded skin area along the bottom centre line of the aircraft beneath stringer No. 32, which resulted in structural failure of the fuselage and aerial disintegration. The precise nature and origin of the skin corrosion was not determined.