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Trépanier, Judith Ann CD (Captain)

Killed in Flying Accident 1991-October-30

Birth Date: 1947-July-23 (age 44)

Born: Brooks, Alberta

Daughter of Robert E and Viola E (nee Grue) Lee

Wife of Major Gilles Joseph Trepanier and mother of Paul and Tanya, of Cumberland, Ontario

Home: Cumberland, Ontario

Enlistment: Ottawa Ontario

Enlistment Date: 1991-09-01

Decorations: CD


Canadian Forces Decoration
Service
CAF70
Unit
435 (T) Sqn- Squadron
Certi Provehendi (Detemined on delivery)
Base
CFB Edmonton
Rank
Captain
Position
Logistics Officer
Service Numbers
F29350376

Hercules C-130E-LM 10322

Ferry Flight 1991-October-30 to 1991-October-30

435 Transport and Rescue Squadron (Certe Provehendi) CFB Edmonton. Hercules C-130E-LM aircraft 10322 struck high ground and crashed on approach to Canadian Forces Station Alert, Ellesmere Island NWT during the semi-annual "Operation Boxtop" supply airlift to the station. At 508 miles from the geographic North Pole, CFS Alert is the furthest north permanent human settlement on our planet

Boxtop 22 was the 22nd flight of the second airlift of 1991. Crewed by Aircraft Commander Capt JP Couch, First Officer Lt J Bales, Lt M Moore, Navigator; Sgt Paul West, Flight Engineer and MCpl Roland Pitre, Loadmaster/Traffic Technician

There were thirteen passengers aboard the aircraft, a mix of military and civilian personnel flying in for duty or to attend to various services for the staff at Alert

For the first time on one of these flights, the Hercules was also carrying an internal bulk fuel tank containing 3,400 litres of diesel fuel for use at CFS Alert. When the aircraft crashed, it broke into three pieces, causing the internal fuel tank to burst open and catch fire

The remote location and weather made any rescue response extremely difficult and hazardous but a massive rescue operation was undertaken involving 24 Canadian and US military aircraft as well as 2 Canadian civilian aircraft

Hundreds of dedicated air and ground search and rescue personnel, persevering despite the most extreme weather conditions and rugged landscape were involved in the recovery

The rescue involved aircraft and personnel from Canadian Military: 103 RU, Gander, 405 Squadron, Greenwood, 408 Squadron, Edmonton, 412 Squadron, Ottawa, 413 Squadron, Greenwood, 415 Squadron, Greenwood, 424 Squadron, Trenton, 429 Squadron, Trenton, 435 Squadron, Edmonton, 436 Squadron, Trenton, 440 Squadron, Edmonton, 442 Squadron, Comox. Canadian Civilian: Greenland Charter Air Services and Bradley Air Services US Military: 11th Air Force, Elemendorf, 22nd Air Force, Travis AFB, 56th Air Rescue, Kleflavik, Iceland

MCpl R Pitre CD (CAF), Captain JA Trepanier CD (CAF), MWO T Jardine CD SSM (CAF) and WO R Grimsley CD (CAF) were killed in this accident

Capt JP Couch (CAF) survived initially and helped other survivors after the crash but died of hypothermia before rescuers arrived

There were thirteen survivors among those aboard: Civilian R Thomson, Civilian S Hillier, Lt J Bales (CAF), Sgt P West (CAF), Lt M Moore (CAF), Capt R Dumoulin (CAF), Capt W de Groot (CAF), MWO M Tremblay (CAF), MCpl T Cobden (CAF), MCpl D Meace (CAF), MCpl M Ellefsen (CAF), MS D Montgomery (CAF) and Pvt B Vance (CAF)

Death and Deliverance by Robert Mason Lee

General Operation Boxtop

General The Royal Canadian Air Force Journal, Vol. 8, No. 4, Fall 2019

Captain Judy Trepanier, logistics officer, Canadian Forces Communication Command Headquarters, Ottawa, Ontario

Canada Source Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Crew on Hercules C-130E-LM 10322

Lockheed C-130 Hercules CC-130

CC-130H Hercules
(Source RCAF Web Page)
The CC-130H Hercules is primarily used for search and rescue operations. While it also carries out transport missions, its main focus is saving lives through the Canadian Armed Forces' search and rescue mandate. It has a range of more than 7,200 kilometres and can transport approximately 80 passengers, operate on short unpaved runways and fly in severe weather conditions. These capabilities make the CC-130H an excellent aircraft for search and rescue operations over the vast span of Canada's central and northern regions. RCAF Web Page

YouTube Hercules

Wkikpedia Wikipedia Hercules

General Harold A Skaarup Web Page

Kestrek Publications CC-130 Hercules - Kestrel Publications

CASPIR Aircraft Groups:
RCAF On Strength (39), RCAF 400 Squadron (1), Canadian Aircraft Losses (8)
last update: 2021-10-26 23:25:58

Hercules C-130E-LM 10322

Hercules 130322 crash site 10.5 miles south east of Alert.

Ex USAF 65-12767. With 435 (T) Squadron, RCAF Station Namao, Alberta.

With 436 Squadron at CFB Trenton, Ontario in 1991. With 435 Squadron when it crashed on 30 October 1991. Crashed on approach to CFS Alert, Ellesmere Island, NWT. 5 fatalities, including Capt. J.P. Couch and Corp-chef J.R. Pitre. 13 survivors. Took several days for survivors to be recovered, due to bad weather. Wreckage still visible at crash site for several years. Read "Death and Deliverance" by Robert Mason Lee, the haunting true story of the Hercules crash at the North Pole.

Deceased

  • Captain John Couch, pilot, 435 Transport Squadron, Edmonton, Alberta
  • Captain Judy Trépanier, logistics officer, Canadian Forces Communication Command Headquarters, Ottawa, Ontario
  • Master Warrant Officer Tom Jardine, regional services manager CANEX, Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ontario
  • Warrant Officer Robert Grimsley, supply technician, Canadian Forces Communication Command Headquarters, Ottawa
  • Master Corporal Roland Pitre, traffic technician, 435 Squadron

Rescued

  • Robert Thomson, civilian, Canadian Forces Base Trenton
  • Susan Hillier, civilian, Canadian Forces Base Trenton
  • Captain Richard Dumoulin, logistics officer, Canadian Forces Communication Command Headquarters
  • Captain Wilma DeGroot, doctor, Canadian Forces Base Trenton
  • Lieutenant Joe Bales, pilot, 435 Squadron
  • Lieutenant Mike Moore, navigator, 435 Squadron
  • Master Warrant Officer Marc Tremblay, supply technician, Canadian Forces Communication Command Headquarters
  • Sergeant Paul West, flight engineer, 435 Squadron
  • Master Corporal Tony Cobden, communications researcher, 770 Communication Research Squadron, Gander, Newfoundland
  • Master Corporal David Meace, radio technician, 1 Canadian Division Headquarters and Signal Squadron, Canadian Forces Base Kingston, Ontario
  • Master Corporal Mario Ellefsen, communications researcher, Canadian Forces Station Leitrim, Ottawa
  • Master Seaman “Monty” Montgomery, communications researcher, Canadian Forces Station Leitrim
  • Private Bill Vance, communications researcher, Canadian Forces Station Leitrim

General Full Popular Mechanics Article: June 1992

General Aviation Safety Network

Canada Source RCAF News, Remembering 130322

Canada Source Remembering 130322

General Bureau of Accident Archives

Google Earth Alert Nunavut on Google Earth


1967-01-17 Taken on Strength 2019-08-20
1970-05-27 Serial Change Became CAF 130322 . 2019-08-20
1991-10-30 Accident Category A RCAF Alert CA Crashed 11 miles short of Alert. 2021-10-30
1993-11-25 Struck off Strength 2021-11-09

435 (T) Sqn- Squadron Certi Provehendi ("Chinthe")

History of the Squadron during World War II (Aircraft: Dakota III, IV)

No. 435 was the 34th RCAF squadron formed overseas in WWII. It was the 3rd transport squadron and the second formed in India. It was inaugurated on November 1 1944 at Gujrat, Punjab, India . Based in Tulihal, Manipur, India from 18 December 1944, it flew Dakota aircraft in support of the British 14th Army in northern Burma. After cessation of hostilities in the Far East, the squadron relocated to Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, UK , where it provided transport services in Britain and Europe for Canadian units. It was finally disbanded at Down Ampney on April 1, 1946.

Overall, in Burma the squadron flew 15,681 sorties, airlifted 27,460 tons of freight, 14,000 passengers and 851 casualties. An additional 1018 sorties were flown in England. Casualties were 3 aircraft, 9 aircrew and 6 passengers killed, 2 aircrew and 13 passengers injured. Awards gained by the squadron were 1 MBE, 1 DFC, 1 AFCs and 1 MiD. Battle Honour was Burma 1944-45Wikipedia, Kostenuk and Griffin

Maps for Movements of 435 Squadron 1944-46

MAP 1: 435 Squadron Movements 1944-46 (right-click on image to display enlarged in new tab)

435 Squadron History Summary 1944-46

History of the Squadron Post-WWII (Aircraft: Dakota, Boxcar, Hercules)

No. 164 (Transport) Squadron was created on 23 January 1943 at Moncton, New Brunswick . The squadron flew Lodestar and Dakota aircraft on East Coast transport duty. It was the RCAF’s premier transport squadron and the cornerstone of the peacetime Air Transport Command. It provided trained aircrew as the nuclei of other transport units. On 1 August 1946 it was divided into two units, one at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and one at Edmonton, Alberta . The Dartmouth squadron become No. 426 (T) Squadron and the Edmonton detachment was re-designated 435 (Transport) Squadron. It flew Douglas Dakota IV aircraft until 1952, then re-equipped with the Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar. The squadron relocated a few miles north to RCAF Station Namao in 1955. From 1960, it flew Lockheed Hercules C-130B, and from 1966 the Hercules C-130-E. Due to the Chrétien government's budget cuts and the resultant closure of the airfield at CFB Edmonton, the squadron was moved to 17 Wing Winnipeg in 1994. It was re-designated '435 Transport and Rescue Squadron' on 1 May 1995. The squadron is now based at 19 Wing, Comox, British Columbia . 435 Squadron is the only Air Force squadron equipped and trained to conduct air-to-air refuelling of fighter aircraft in support of operational and training activities at home and abroad. The CC-130 Hercules tanker is a key asset for the Canadian NORAD Region in its mission to defend Canada and the United States against aerial threats that originate outside or within North American airspace. The Squadron has been operating the tankers in support of fighter operations since 1992.

For additional details see

General RCAF Government website

.

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