The Crash
On October 30, 1991, at approximately 4:40 p.m., a CC-130 Hercules aircraft from 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron, operating as Boxtop Flight 22, was on its final approach to Canadian Forces Station Alert on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut. The aircraft, loaded with 3,400 litres of diesel fuel, had departed from Thule Air Force Base in Greenland as part of the biannual resupply mission known as Operation Boxtop. During the descent, the pilot flying lost sight of the runway. Moments later, radar contact and communication were lost as the aircraft crashed approximately 16 kilometres south of the station. The crew of another CC-130 Hercules, also bound for Alert, observed the fires from the crash and identified the location.
Casualties and Rescue
The crash resulted in the deaths of five Canadian Armed Forces members: four died in the crash itself, and one succumbed before help arrived. Thirteen individuals survived. Within half an hour of the rescue call, a Hercules carrying 12 search and rescue technicians from 440 Search and Rescue Squadron in Edmonton, Alberta, was airborne. It reached the crash site seven and a half hours later, but the technicians could not descend due to weather conditions. Another Hercules from 413 Search and Rescue Squadron in Greenwood, Nova Scotia, soon joined the search. Meanwhile, a ground rescue team formed at Alert set out overland for the crash site, guided through darkness and horrendous weather by a Hercules overhead.
The survivors, some soaked in diesel fuel, endured high winds and temperatures between -20°C and -30°C. Many sheltered in the tail section of the downed aircraft, while others were more exposed. Finally, the 413 Squadron team obtained a break in the weather, and six SAR technicians parachuted into the site more than 32 hours after the crash, beginning the search for survivors. They were soon joined by more SAR technicians. When the ground rescue team arrived—21 hours after departing—26 rescuers were on the ground. They warmed and treated the injured and prepared them for medical evacuation. A Twin Huey helicopter from Alert made three trips to transport the survivors back to the station.