Lockheed 14 Super Electra accident at Mt William Night, Canada, 20 Dec 1942 (CF-CPD)

Accident narrative

The airplane departed Prince George Airport at 1600LT on a flight to Vancouver with an ETA at 1800LT. The flight originated from Whitehorse and on board were 10 passengers and a crew of three. At 1805LT, the copilot had a radio communication with ATC to obtain the last weather report for Vancouver, this was the last radio transmission recorded with the crew. Few minutes later, while cruising at an altitude of 7,000 feet in limited visibility (night and marginal weather conditions), the airplane impacted the slope of Mt William Night located near the Fraser Valley, in the region of Chilliwack. As the airplane failed to arrive at destination, SAR operations were initiated but eventually suspended few days later due to poor weather conditions. The wreckage was spotted by a plane crew on 9 August 1943. The airplane disintegrated on impact and debris were scattered on a wide area. All 13 occupants were killed. Crew: Ernest W. Kubicek, pilot, William G. Holland, copilot, Edna Young, stewardess. Passengers: Reginald H. Battye, James J. Coyle, Laetitia A. Herron, Robert W. Kehr, William N. Scharfe, Rudolph A. Schroeder, Arthur L. Smith, Hugh Stewart, Winowna M. Stouse, Bernard J. Stouse.

Probable cause (official findings): At the time of the accident, the airplane was off course by more than 120 km, most probably due to a general failure of the electric system. Analysis revealed that the crew did not follow the prescribed track after passing the city of Squamish. Due to poor visibility, night, bad weather conditions and the failure of the headlights, pilots were unaware of their real position and were unable to see and avoid the mountain against which the airplane crashed. Consequently, the accident is the result of a controlled flight into terrain.