413 Squadron marks crash anniversary October 1 with thoughts of family, friends-co-workers
One of the crew had a less-than-a-month-old daughter. Another was set to be married in days. A couple of them had swapped places on another aircraft so squadron members could get home for evening hockey intramurals.
October 1, family, co-workers, commanders and those who remember six lost 413 (Transport and Rescue) Squadron members will gather at 14 Wing Greenwood to mark the 25th anniversary of the crash October 2, 1998, of Labrador 305 in Marsoui, Quebec.
“Everyone in the military – everything we do, it’s about people,” says 413 Squadron Commanding Officer Lieutenant-Colonel Mark Norris. “You see planes, equipment… but it’s really all about people.
“This was a significant tragedy for families, for us as a squadron – it affected us all; it helped shape Steve and me both into who we are today.
Both Norris and his command team partner, Chief Warrant Officer Stephen Bates, were young men 25 years ago: “we were lucky, we started our careers mentored by some of the folks who responded and were affected by this tragedy.”
Pilots Captain Peter Musselman and Captain Darrin Vandenbilche, flight engineers Master Corporal David Gaetz and Master Corporal Glen Sinclair, and search and rescue technicians Sergeant Jean Roy and Master Corporal Darrell Cronin were killed after an on-board fuel leak, fire and explosion, an off-balance rotor catching the main body and then in-air break up and crash.
“They’d been on a medical call; they’d been in Sept- -Îles. Two guys switched from the Labrador to the Hercules to get home faster, the Hercules did top cover for the Labrador over the St. Lawrence as a normal safety measure and then shot for home,” Norris said. “Within minutes, they had a call for another mission, a search for a yellow aircraft.”
The Hercules crew quickly found the site, and two SAR-techs parachuted in. Bates says conditions – wind, weather, crew fatigue – were not good, but they were going in. The news was bad.
“And today, as we’re here talking about this, we have a helicopter out right now on a mission,” Bates says. “It’s always in our minds. We talk about this story, these people; they’re not all blended, but connected. Talking empowers the squadron: that everyone has a role and everything is shared. We’re here as a squadron for our families.”
With the approach of the crash anniversary, 413 Squadron is aware of three things: honouring the six lost squadron members, being present to support family, friends and squadron members who were affected by the crash then, in the years that followed – and could be again by something similar in the future; and the importance of being prepared.
“Readiness – 413 members can be grounded in trust in the squadron to keep each other safe,” says Norris. “Every single member.”
In the past months, the squadron has contacted as many of the six men’s family members as possible to develop plans for the most appropriate anniversary gathering. Former and current squadron and 14 Wing members and leadership have been engaged.
“We’re being very sensitive, as this brings up lots of things for us all,” Norris says. “We are respectful of privacy, we’re respectful of our squadron mates.”
In August, 413 Squadron was present as one of the men was re-interred at Beechwood Cemetery, Canada’s national military cemetery in Ottawa. In mid-September, a crew travelled to Marsoui for its biennial caretaking of the memorial at the crash site. October 1, Norris says the squadron invites people to visit the Lab 305 memorial in the Greenwood Military Aviation Museum’s memorial garden on the way to a 2 p.m. remembrance on 14 Wing Greenwood’s Parade Square. Into next month, 413 Squadron is all business, with several table-top exercises focused on responding to a tragedy like Lab 305 – along with the unexpected search and rescue calls that will arise at any given moment.
“Random. It’s what search and rescue is. It is,” Norris said. “This 25th anniversary memorial itself is a training event: that all of us remember; that we’re grounded; that we want to make sure we’re ready. We have to take care of what we want people to think about.”
