 Sometimes
We had Tragedies -The Air Force Fire
Marshal, Wing Commander Bill MacCallum and I, at that time the Air Division Fire
Marshal had just completed an inspection of the four Air Division Wings and
Metz. It was then decided that we would visit the Pyrene Company in England
which was in the process of building the G-19 Foam Crash Tenders. It had been a
busy week so the W/C decided that he would go to London on the Friday evening to
get rested up and I would join him Monday for the visit to the plant. Saturday
morning. 3 December 1955, I proceeded to 2 (F) Wing at Grostenquin France to
catch the Bristol Freighter to Langar. The aircraft had to make a stop at 1 (F)
Wing Marville to pick up some freight and a couple of passengers. Because of the
foggy conditions, the flight crew was making their appraoch into Marville by GCA.
About 5 miles out, contact with the GCA was lost and the aircraft flew into the
side of a heavily wooded hill about two miles short of the runway. The Bristol
Freighter was ripped apart on contact. The fuel tanks were ruptured spraying gas
over a large area and a fire started. My immediate concern was to get as far away from the crash site as possible. In addition to the crew of four, there had been thirteen passengers on board. Seven passengers died in the crash and foru were seriously injured. I was fortunate, I only suffered two broken ribs and a bruised ankle. The flight attendant, LAC J. Novak, and I dragged the passengers...some living, some dead several yards away. The pilot, co-pilot and navigator were some distance away in another part of the wreckage and were only slightly injured, but had trouble walking. Because I was the least injured, it was decided that I should go for help. After a five minute walk, I encountered two Frenchmen cutting wood. They assisted me in getting to the village of Lre-le-Sec and a telephone. I called the Base and requested a crash tender and ambulance, and then directed them to the edge of the woods and the route I had covered. Unfortunately, I never did get to complete the journey to England and spent several weeks recuperating. By Archie Graham, Flight Lieutenant, Retired
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