DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS FOR 1931 131 



The untimely deaths of four of our boys makes one realize the common 

 danger we all face. While the control and safety of aircraft in flight depends 

 upon the human factor, accidents will happen. The tragic deaths of Messrs. 

 Hutton, Greer, Runciman and Mewburn of the Ontario Provincial Air Service, 

 and of Mr. Stewart, District Forester at Fort Frances, came as a shock not 

 only to the Service but to the communities in which they lived. Their untimely 

 passing is deeply regretted by all their associates, to whom they had endeared 

 themselves. The sympathy of the entire service goes out to the families of our 

 deceased comrades. 



Misfortune attended the Service as regards loss of aircraft. One Hamilton 

 was written off on Rainy Lake, becoming a total wreck and causing the death 

 of its occupants. In the opinion of the members of the Court of Enquiry the 

 accident was due to the following: owing to flying speed being lost whilst the 

 aircraft was being brought out of a turn which resulted in a spin with insufficient 

 height to allow control of the aircraft to be regained. One Fairchild 71 met 

 with mishap at Arrow Lake. One H.S. 2 L. met with mishap at Pays Plat, 

 becoming a total wreck and causing the death of one of the crew under very 

 distressing circumstances. Apparently the machine landed in an inverted 

 position in the water. In the opinion of the members of the Court of Enquiry 

 the accident was due to the following: the pilot attempting to make an alighting 

 with insufficient height to allow the aircraft to clear an obstruction in the line 

 of flight situated one hundred yards inland from the shore line. 



One H.S. 2 L. was lost at Rainy Lake, becoming a total wreck. The crew 

 narrowly escaped drowning. This machine was force landed in a terrific thunder- 

 storm and was capsized after it had made a safe landing. The wind speed, 

 estimated at sixty-five miles per hour, turned the machine completely over, 

 drifting it to an island shore line. The engineer of this particular machine was 

 later killed in the crash of the Hamilton. One Moth was damaged at Rainy 

 Lake in the same storm which struck the H.S. 2 L. The pilot, after landing his 

 Moth aircraft and in an attempt to reach a sheltered cove, was caught by the 

 storm and thrown clear of the machine, unable to reach it again. He divested 

 himself of his clothing, inflated his air vest and floated in the stormy water for 

 more than an hour before he was rescued. The crews of both the H.S. 2 L. and 

 the Moth displayed exceptional courage and coolness in their trying circumstances. 

 The Moth, as referred to in this accident, was returned to Sault Ste. Marie, 

 reconditioned and flown back to Fort Frances two weeks after the terrible storm. 



Words can but feebly express the admiration for the courage and cheerfulness 

 displayed by the personnel throughout the very trying 1931 flying operations. 

 They were faced with difficult problems which they met with stout hearts. 

 I am proud to be associated with such a splendid organization. 



Operating Statistics: 



The statistical summary herewith is comparative with the years 1928, 

 1929 and 1930. 



