DRYDEN – For nearly 35 years, the tragedy of Air Ontario Flight 1363 has gripped Dryden residents.
On March 10, 1989, the passenger flight was on a regularly scheduled trip from Thunder Bay to Winnipeg, where after a brief stop at the Dryden Regional Airport, the airplane crash-landed after taking off in a densely wooded area. Of the 65 passengers, 21 lost their lives, along with three of the four crew members on board, including both pilots — Captain George John Morwood and Keith Mills.
To commemorate its history, the Dryden Museum is actively seeking participants in an oral history project to preserve the story and memories of the flight.
“Dryden is a small community and everyone kind of circled in an effort to work together and respond to the incident,” said Michelle Walter, the Museum and Heritage Coordinator.
“So many people were impacted emotionally in our town and many residents who remember that day have vivid and traumatic recollections of this incident. In particular, those who responded to the accident, but this had a much larger impact extending beyond our community.”
The damage to the aircraft was severe. Both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder were destroyed. A judicial review of the accident was performed, concluding that ice and snow accumulated on the plane’s wings, resulting in its inability to lift into the air.
As a result of the Commission of Inquiry, new safety regulations were put in place to try to prevent future similar incidents.
What we want to achieve with the oral history portion, in particular, is recognizing that this is a part of our community too,” Walter said.
“This a part of our history and the importance of preserving that history is about paying attention and giving respect to those who lost their lives, those who responded to the incident, and recognizing the important change to aviation safety that were identified in the commission of inquiry.”
The oral history of the flight will capture the voices of those affected in the community, nearly 35 years after the crash. With so much time passed, the project must be done now as those memories are in jeopardy of being lost forever.
“We hope to get a move on that and start to capture those stories that we really shouldn’t lose,” Walter said.
One person in the community with a story is the city’s current chief administrative officer, Roger Nesbit, who reflected on his childhood memories.
“I remember that night at the family dinner table. The conversation. The concern from my parents and I think that was echoed throughout the community at the time. Not even understanding what those first responders and the rest of the community were going through at that point in time,” Nesbit said.
The idea for the project came from an aviation enthusiast from Milton, Ontario, who approached then-mayor Greg Wilson with an idea to recognize the event.
Former Dryden municipal clerk Colleen Brosseau said the crash had an impact on the community but also brought national and international attention.
“During the initial discussion I had with various people, the community came together. People really collaborated and they did everything they could,” she said.
“There are a lot of stories of people coming together. My mother was a housekeeper at the hospital and she was designated to sit with a patient that was a prisoner on the flight. He was pretty traumatized at the time and I remember her talking about that.”
While the oral history project is one initiative to commemorate the crash, another is to develop a new memorial site that people can reach in remembrance of the event.
Brosseau said there’s an existing memorial at the site, but it’s hard to reach.
“I think going forward it’s important for any future memorial to do something substantial and bring it within the boundaries of our community. It should recognize the lives that were lost and those people that responded within the community, but also to educate” Brosseau said.
Once the project is complete, the Dryden Museum will feature an oral history as a permanent exhibit in the museum and the city hopes to install a significant memorial within the city’s limits.
“We are hoping that this site will not deplete the importance of the original crash site.,” Walter said. “That original site is always going to be a significant place. We are hoping it will complement that area nicely by working as a location where people can feel comfortable going to learn about the crash and its impacts on our community, as well as, aviation history.”
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