::.:. FLIGHT 621: 40th ANNIVERSARY - Two Boys, a Cat, and a Dog ::..

The Last Will and Testament of brothers Jacques and Jean Belanger

"IF WE DIE, WE GIVE…"

POUPONNE, MY CAT, I leave to Mionne Mallette.

Sports equipment to Daniel and Benoit Maillette. My typewriter to Evelyne Mallette, and my coin collection from Expo´67 to Jason Gagnon. Jacque's tape recorder to Norman Dupres. Handkerchief to Denis Perrault. Jean's Apollo XI rocket to Pierre Guertin…and so on…until all of his toys and possessions, and those of his younger brother, Jean (12), were given up to his friends and cousins.

Jacques (16) was mesmerized with the progress of aviation at the time.

The teenager knew about aviation, first hand, as his father was currently an Air Canada mechanic. So Jacques was really excited that he, indeed his whole family, would be flying on a brand new DC-8 "Stretch'…the very largest, and most advanced airliner at the time.

And yet, there was something wrong.

Did Jacques have a premonition?

Why did he think he might not return?

What did he feel?

Why did he insist on making a will, and giving it to his cousin, and best friend, Jean Mallette, just before boarding Air Canada Flight 621?

I'm sure Jacques' family made jokes about his insistence on creating a will for both him, and his brother. Their sister, Rosanne (10) did not create a will. I wonder what the Belanger family thought and said to one another…as they sat together on the ill-fated airplane, and events tragically unfolded. The knowing looks; the sad heads shaking.

Did his mother acknowledge, as mothers so often do when their own children amaze them, "Oh Jacques…you were right!"

These preceding paragraphs are only speculation but you can be sure some sort of exchange occurred.

On July 5th, 1970, at 8:10 am in the morning, Air Canada Flight 621 crashed in a farmer's field beside the West Humber, in Castlemore, Ontario nose first, left wing high…killing all 109 passengers and crew. A caged dog also perished.

And the whole Belanger family, all five of them, died together in Castlemore, 40 years ago.


Flight 621 In Memorium

Adams, Celine Fradette
Adams, Pierre J
Beaudin, Gaetan
Belanger, Mrs.
Belanger, Jacques
Belanger, Jean
Belanger, Roland
Belanger, Rosanne
Benson, Helen
Benson, Leonard
Benson, Mary
Benson, Richard
Bertrand, Ginette
Boosamra, Lynn
Boulanger, Guy
Bradshaw, Dollie
Cedilot, Robert J
Chapdeleine, Jeannine
Chapdeleine, Joanne
Chapdeleine, Mario
Charent, Jean Maurice
Clarke, Devona Olivia
Cote, Francine
Daoust, Yolande
Desmarais, Brigitte
Desmarais, G
Dicaire, Alice (Marie)
Dicaire, Gilles
Dicaire, Linda
Dicaire, Luke
Dicaire, Mark
Dion, Suzanne
Dore, Jacqueline
Earle, Lewella
Earle, Linda
Filippone, Francesco
Filippone, Linda
Filippone, Marie
Gee, Bernard
Goulet, Denise M
Grenier, Madeleine
Growse, Mrs.
Growse, Jane
Growse, Roger
Hamilton, Karen E
Hamilton, Peter Cameron
Herrmann, Ronald Alvin
Hill, Harry Gordon
Holiday, Claude
Houston, Irene Margaret
Houston, Wesley
Jakobsen, Vagn Aage
Labont, Gilles
Leclaire, Marie Rose
Leclaire, Oscar
Leduc, Henri W
Lepage, Claudette
Mailhiot, Claire Gagnon
Mailhiot, Gerald Bernard
Maitz, Gustave
Maitz, Karoline
McKettrick, Winnifred
McTague, John
Medizza, Carla
Mohammed, Dolly
Molino, Antonio
Molino, Michael (Michel)
Moore, Frederick T
Partridge, Andrea
Partridge, Carnie (Carnis) Ann
Partridge, Cyril Wayne
Phillips, Kenneth William
Poirier, Rita
Raymond, Gilles
Raymond, Martial
Robert, Aline
Robert, Georges E
Robidoux, Lionel
Rowland, Donald
Silverberg, Marci
Silverberg, Merle
Silverberg, Steven
Simon, Istvan
Simon, Mark
Smith, Dwight Lee
St. Laurent, Blanche
Stepping, Glenn Thomas
Sultan, Celia
Sultan, Jerald. M
Sultan, Robert. L
Szpakowicz, Borys
Szpakowicz, Serge
Tielens, Carmen
Tielens, Frederick
Tournovits, George
Tournovits, Soula (Athanasia)
Weinberg, Carla
Weinberg, S
Weinberg, Wendy
Whittingham, Jennifer
Whittingham, John
Whittingham, Reginald
Whybro, Mary Baker
Wieczorek, Hildegund
Witmer, Edgar
Wong, Ngar-Quon
Wong, Suzie
Wong, Wong (Mansing)
Woodward, Dallas J



© 1970 Mike Quatrale (OPP police photographer)
© Pierre Tremblay - Friends of Flight 621
© Paul Cardin - Friends of Flight 621

Toronto’s LARGEST AIR DISASTER… Flight 621 "Galaxy" Promotional Items

39 YEARS AGO TODAY… Flight 621 crashed in Castlemore, on July 5, 1970.

As the inside cover of the matches state, "The Galaxy" was Air Canada's unique jet service between Eastern Canada and California. The airplane itself, a DC-8 Stretch, and promotional material carried the theme.

IF YOU WERE one of Flight 621 passengers… these are some of the "Galaxy" promo items on board the ill-fated Stretch DC-8 you would likely have seen.

If you didn't seen the Air Canada Air Route scheduler on board, you would certainly have seen them at the check-in counter. And the Air Canada Galaxy themed matches would have been given out with ashtrays, or would have been on coffee tables, in the small lounge areas that were on the DC-8 itself.

The "Galaxy" theme was spread throughout the aircraft. It was incorporated into the molded ceiling plastic of the Galaxy DC-8s so that when passengers looked up they would almost think they were looking at the stars, the very heavens above. The blue ceiling actually had sparkler bits crafted in, which would "dance" creating a mild optical illusion for the viewer. Silly now, when you think about it. But hey, this was 1970, and the pervasive cultural theme was "anything goes".

To be fair, this similar "galaxy motif" can be found on some of the new Super Jumbo A380s. I mean, I saw some examples that Airbus was considering for the interior design on their new gigantic airplano. These evolved Airbus interior motifs were a little more polished and elaborate, but the idea of "touching the stars" in flight and in the cabin remains a strong one. One, that aircraft producers return to.

One of the very last things that the passengers would have seen, most, if not all, would have been the Second Officer Don Rowland leaving the cockpit and coming into the passenger cabin.

Did he look at the terrified passengers, as he briskly made his way to the one of the passenger's windows? Did he shake his head, or sigh, or swear, when he saw that the starboard wing was now… mostly gone? On his way back to the cockpit, what was he thinking? He knew then, that it was over, that there wasn't any hope.

We do know that when Don got back into the cockpit, he announced that they'd lost a wing.

And almost as if fate was waiting for that announcement, once it was made, and had registered with the airplane's pilot, and navigator… the DC-8 lastly lunged downward. Spiraling now, it could no longer pretend to be an an airplane.

It went straight into the ground at over 400 mph.

Sadly, but indeed mercifully, all 109 passengers and crew died instantly leaving family and friends to mourn their loss from that moment on.

And Flight 621's First Officer, Don Rowland…never made it back to his seat.



Flight 621 In Memorium

Adams, Celine Fradette
Adams, Pierre J
Beaudin, Gaetan
Belanger, Mrs.
Belanger, Jacques
Belanger, Jean
Belanger, Roland
Belanger, Rosanne
Benson, Helen
Benson, Leonard
Benson, Mary
Benson, Richard
Bertrand, Ginette
Boosamra, Lynn
Boulanger, Guy
Bradshaw, Dollie
Cedilot, Robert J
Chapdeleine, Jeannine
Chapdeleine, Joanne
Chapdeleine, Mario
Charent, Jean Maurice
Clarke, Devona Olivia
Cote, Francine
Daoust, Yolande
Desmarais, Brigitte
Desmarais, G
Dicaire, Alice (Marie)
Dicaire, Gilles
Dicaire, Linda
Dicaire, Luke
Dicaire, Mark
Dion, Suzanne
Dore, Jacqueline
Earle, Lewella
Earle, Linda
Filippone, Francesco
Filippone, Linda
Filippone, Marie
Gee, Bernard
Goulet, Denise M
Grenier, Madeleine

Growse, Jane
Growse, Roger
Hamilton, Karen E
Hamilton, Peter Cameron
Herrmann, Ronald Alvin
Hill, Harry Gordon
Holiday, Claude
Houston, Irene Margaret
Houston, Wesley
Jakobsen, Vagn Aage
Labont, Gilles
Leclaire, Marie Rose
Leclaire, Oscar
Leduc, Henri W
Lepage, Claudette
Mailhiot, Claire Gagnon
Mailhiot, Gerald Bernard
Maitz, Gustave
Maitz, Karoline
McKettrick, Winnifred
McTague, John
Medizza, Carla
Mohammed, Dolly
Molino, Antonio
Molino, Michael (Michel)
Moore, Frederick T
Partridge, Andrea
Partridge, Carnie (Carnis) Ann
Partridge, Cyril Wayne
Phillips, Kenneth William
Poirier, Rita
Raymond, Gilles
Raymond, Martial
Robert, Aline
Robert, Georges E
Robidoux, Lionel
Rowland, Donald
Silverberg, Marci
Silverberg, Merle
Silverberg, Steven
Simon, Istvan
Simon, Mark
Smith, Dwight Lee
St. Laurent, Blanche
Stepping, Glenn Thomas
Sultan, Celia
Sultan, Jerald. M
Sultan, Robert. L
Szpakowicz, Borys
Szpakowicz, Serge
Tielens, Carmen
Tielens, Frederick
Tournovits, George
Tournovits, Soula (Athanasia)
Weinberg, Carla
Weinberg, S
Weinberg, Wendy
Whittingham, Jennifer
Whittingham, John
Whittingham, Reginald
Whybro, Mary Baker
Wieczorek, Hildegund
Witmer, Edgar
Wong, Ngar-Quon
Wong, Suzie
Wong, Wong (Mansing)
Woodward, Dallas J

FOR MORE on this UNBELIEVABLE STORY in our day, and age, see:
FLIGHT 621

SECRET TORONTO: Flight 621 in Toronto-Gore Township

Toronto-Gore Township, now Castlemore inclusive.

Really Brampton.

But back then, in 1970, this was known as Toronto-Gore.

AND THIS is where Air Canada Flight 621 crashed.

Archeological dig.

195 holes, just like this one, throughout the crash arena in 2006 yielded 90 human bone fragments.

So on one hand, we have developers that want to build right here. On the other hand we have a field that has crash victim's bones STILL in it.

What is Solomon, or anyone, to do?

Enter, into the fray, the illustrious City of Brampton.

"Guys if you want to build there…you gotta clean up the field, put a cemetery at the crash point and build a monument."

And that is exactly what they are going to do—

So what the Office of the Coroner could not do, what Air Canada could not do…the City of Brampton will make happen. The right thing will now be done!

Everyone connected with the this amazing reversal, those staff and those elected members from the City of Brampton…we, the Friends of Flight 621, salute your noble efforts to finally, finally, bring closure to this tragedy, and more recently the on-going travesty of the unburied flight victim's human remains.

Although 109 people died here on July 5, 1970…in an area that is home to almost 8 million Canadians…indeed, one quarter the population of our entire country, that beloved Canada…yet, so few actually know about the horrific crash and the location of the nearby, but mysterious, former crash site.

How is that?

Fast forward to 2010…everyone will know where it is, and all will be able to visit.

But why is the 621 crash site off our present radar, folks?

Air Canada…and…their corporate damage control team.

Remember, the Flight 621 relatives were promised a memorial on site by Air Canada. Back in 1970.

Air Canada later gave them one instead at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in midtown Toronto. Sure, a lot of famous Canadians have been laid to rest there. A prime minister or two. Notable musicians. War heroes. Why even the victims of the SS Noronic were buried there. But that's Toronto's other disaster. And yet this setting just wasn't right for the 621 families.

Too far from the actual site of the air disaster.

Much, too far.

However, there was something about the closeness of the crash site to Air Canada's Toronto hub that bothered the uppers (upper management of Air Canada). Remember the "uppers" made incredible decisions back then. Like in Cincinnati when that Air Canada DC-9 burned to the ground, right there on the runway. And additional Air Canada passengers died way back in the mid-80s.

The all-consuming fire had only just been contained by the Cincinnati Fire Department, on what was left of the DC-9, when the Fire Department regulars were suddenly bewildered by events that began unfolding right before their eyes. An unidentified vehicle, that obviously received airport clearance (the power of those AC uppers extends far) drove right up, alongside the just extinguished DC-9 tail. Now, before the firefighting team could voice disapproval, out poured mystery folk who immediately and with much fervor started painting white over the famous Air Canada logo, so prominent on the tail, in the airline's livery back then.

Damage control. Protect the brand. Mobilize the peons. Send the order down!

"Get that logo off the tail! At all costs." Sound of a phone slamming.

There may even be a "protect the brand" chant, that only the "uppers" know.

So the placement of the Flight 621 memorial in the Mount Pleasant Cemetery, where 55 passengers and crew were laid to rest, while generous back in 1970, was…remiss.

Not satisfactory.

Except to those AC uppers.

And through the years…the "621" families were ALWAYS ANGRY about that betrayal.

That failed Air Canada promise. The 621 families I met, inevitably, referred to it.

But in 2010…that will all change.

By the executive order of the City of Brampton.

Uppers vs. One-Uppers.

And those families will be able to go the 621 crash site themselves. And Air Canada can't stop the process, or the new memorial this time. Or the Flight 621 cemetery containing the remaining bone fragments that will also be ushered into existence.

The City of Brampton has decided.

So in 2010, at the 40th anniversary of the crash…there will be a new memorial right alongside a new cemetery. Since thousands of small bone fragments of their loved ones are still there and will be entombed in the new cemetery.

Then family members will be able to visit.

And so too, others moved by the disaster, now so long ago.

Family members then, won't need me to show them where the worst event in their lives happened. Although I was always ready to do that when asked.

Awkwardly.

And they will go there, next year. Some even for the first time.

In droves the families will go. Officially.

For closure. For solidarity.

To join prayerfully, and mystically with their departed ones. To say by their visit, by their presence, by the anguish in their souls…that we had to come here…because here…is where you left us ~

And we never got over it. Know this.

Never.

Flight 621: And the “stars” fell from the skies…

THERE IT IS…a sad, sad, symbol and reminder of the unfinished business of Flight 621.

Bone bits and aircraft bits are still found in the Flight 621 crash “arena “ to this day!

This farmer's field is littered with thousands of them.

Here lies a blue, broken, Air Canada stir stick, normally finished off on the top with a prominent star. Now only a broken and battered star. And the stir part…long gone. Or buried still.

Once used for cocktails on those premium 1960-70s flights, “Galaxy” referred to Air Canada’s connosieur flight class. The passenger cabin’s ceiling on those specially themed DC-8s were actually molded in blue plastic. Reflective flecks of silver were added to them, and these sparkled (stars) when you gazed upwards at the DC-8's ceiling from the safety of your seat.

BUT ON July 5, 1970…thirty-eight years ago today, the stars fell from the sky.

And crashed, in Castlemore (Brampton), Ontario.

All 109 passengers and crew of Air Canada Flight 621 lost their lives that day.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow


Flight 621 In Memorium

Adams, Celine Fradette
Adams, Pierre J
Beaudin, Gaetan
Belanger, Mrs.
Belanger, Jacques
Belanger, Jean
Belanger, Roland
Belanger, Rosanne
Benson, Helen
Benson, Leonard
Benson, Mary
Benson, Richard
Bertrand, Ginette
Boosamra, Lynn
Boulanger, Guy
Bradshaw, Dollie
Cedilot, Robert J
Chapdeleine, Jeannine
Chapdeleine, Joanne
Chapdeleine, Mario
Charent, Jean Maurice
Clarke, Devona Olivia
Cote, Francine
Daoust, Yolande
Desmarais, Brigitte
Desmarais, G
Dicaire, Alice (Marie)
Dicaire, Gilles
Dicaire, Linda
Dicaire, Luke
Dicaire, Mark
Dion, Suzanne
Dore, Jacqueline
Earle, Lewella
Earle, Linda
Filippone, Francesco
Filippone, Linda
Filippone, Marie
Gee, Bernard
Goulet, Denise M
Grenier, Madeleine
Growse, Jane
Growse, Roger
Hamilton, Karen E
Hamilton, Peter Cameron
Herrmann, Ronald Alvin
Hill, Harry Gordon
Holiday, Claude
Houston, Irene Margaret
Houston, Wesley
Jakobsen, Vagn Aage
Labont, Gilles
Leclaire, Marie Rose
Leclaire, Oscar
Leduc, Henri W
Lepage, Claudette
Mailhiot, Claire Gagnon
Mailhiot, Gerald Bernard
Maitz, Gustave
Maitz, Karoline
McKettrick, Winnifred
McTague, John
Medizza, Carla
Mohammed, Dolly
Molino, Antonio
Molino, Michael (Michel)
Moore, Frederick T
Partridge, Andrea
Partridge, Carnie (Carnis) Ann
Partridge, Cyril Wayne
Phillips, Kenneth William
Poirier, Rita
Raymond, Gilles
Raymond, Martial
Robert, Aline
Robert, Georges E
Robidoux, Lionel
Rowland, Donald
Silverberg, Marci
Silverberg, Merle
Silverberg, Steven
Simon, Istvan
Simon, Mark
Smith, Dwight Lee
St. Laurent, Blanche
Stepping, Glenn Thomas
Sultan, Celia
Sultan, Jerald. M
Sultan, Robert. L
Szpakowicz, Borys
Szpakowicz, Serge
Tielens, Carmen
Tielens, Frederick
Tournovits, George
Tournovits, Soula (Athanasia)
Weinberg, Carla
Weinberg, S
Weinberg, Wendy
Whittingham, Jennifer
Whittingham, John
Whittingham, Reginald
Whybro, Mary Baker
Wieczorek, Hildegund
Witmer, Edgar
Wong, Ngar-Quon
Wong, Suzie
Wong, Wong (Mansing)
Woodward, Dallas J

FOR MORE on this UNBELIEVABLE STORY in our day, and age, see:
FLIGHT 621

Brampton’s LARGEST AIR DISASTER…Flight 621

…happened right here in 1970 on an Air Canada "Stretch 8" arriving from Montreal.

AND PLENTY is afoot right now!

Follow the NOTES.

That’s it!


Well, there is MORE: homepage.mac.com/friendsofflight621/Menu2.html

On July 5, 1970 while Air Canada “California Galaxy” Flight 621 passed over the threshold of Runway 32, at Toronto International Airport, the First Officer, Donald Rowland, inadvertently deployed the speedbrakes (spoilers) while the “Stretch 8” was only 60 feet above the ground.

An excessive sink rate was the immediate result and Pratt and Whitney Engine Number 4 struck the runway, and was immediately torn off. Captain Peter Hamilton unaware of the engine loss, and the subsequent wing fire, initiated a go-around.

Airborne for three and a half minutes, CF-TIW suffered three explosions that were recorded on the CVR tapes. Engine Number 3 was then lost at this time. With the aircraft’s structural integrity finally compromised, flight could no longer be sustained. Now seven miles from the airport, CF-TIW crashed nose down, left wing high into a farmer’s field in Castlemore, Ontario (now a part of Brampton) at 400 mph, only one hundred and fifty feet from the occupied Burgsma residence.

All 109 passengers and crew perished as Flight 621 became Toronto's worst air disaster. This was also the first hull loss of a McDonnell Douglas DC-8-63 series.

FLIGHT 621: Same Story…

…different year.

There’s someone’s SKULL BONE piece, emerging from the ground, in July of 2007.

From Flight 621.

Their partial skeletal remains, just left there, year-in-year-out to bake in the sun in a Brampton field…located in in the now forgotten Toronto-Gore Township.

37 years ago today, Flight 621 slammed into the ground, killing all 109 passengers and crew.

Flight 621 In Memorium

Adams, Celine Fradette
Adams, Pierre J
Beaudin, Gaetan
Belanger, Mrs.
Belanger, Jacques
Belanger, Jean
Belanger, Roland
Belanger, Rosanne
Benson, Helen
Benson, Leonard
Benson, Mary
Benson, Richard
Bertrand, Ginette
Boosamra, Lynn
Boulanger, Guy
Bradshaw, Dollie
Cedilot, Robert J
Chapdeleine, Jeannine
Chapdeleine, Joanne
Chapdeleine, Mario
Charent, Jean Maurice
Clarke, Devona Olivia
Cote, Francine
Daoust, Yolande
Desmarais, Brigitte
Desmarais, G
Dicaire, Alice (Marie)
Dicaire, Gilles
Dicaire, Linda
Dicaire, Luke
Dicaire, Mark
Dion, Suzanne
Dore, Jacqueline
Earle, Lewella
Earle, Linda
Filippone, Francesco
Filippone, Linda
Filippone, Marie
Gee, Bernard
Goulet, Denise M
Grenier, Madeleine

Growse, Jane
Growse, Roger
Hamilton, Karen E
Hamilton, Peter Cameron
Herrmann, Ronald Alvin
Hill, Harry Gordon
Holiday, Claude
Houston, Irene Margaret
Houston, Wesley
Jakobsen, Vagn Aage
Labont, Gilles
Leclaire, Marie Rose
Leclaire, Oscar
Leduc, Henri W
Lepage, Claudette
Mailhiot, Claire Gagnon
Mailhiot, Gerald Bernard
Maitz, Gustave
Maitz, Karoline
McKettrick, Winnifred
McTague, John
Medizza, Carla
Mohammed, Dolly
Molino, Antonio
Molino, Michael (Michel)
Moore, Frederick T
Partridge, Andrea
Partridge, Carnie (Carnis) Ann
Partridge, Cyril Wayne
Phillips, Kenneth William
Poirier, Rita
Raymond, Gilles
Raymond, Martial
Robert, Aline
Robert, Georges E
Robidoux, Lionel
Rowland, Donald
Silverberg, Marci
Silverberg, Merle
Silverberg, Steven
Simon, Istvan
Simon, Mark
Smith, Dwight Lee
St. Laurent, Blanche
Stepping, Glenn Thomas
Sultan, Celia
Sultan, Jerald. M
Sultan, Robert. L
Szpakowicz, Borys
Szpakowicz, Serge
Tielens, Carmen
Tielens, Frederick
Tournovits, George
Tournovits, Soula (Athanasia)
Weinberg, Carla
Weinberg, S
Weinberg, Wendy
Whittingham, Jennifer
Whittingham, John
Whittingham, Reginald
Whybro, Mary Baker
Wieczorek, Hildegund
Witmer, Edgar
Wong, Ngar-Quon
Wong, Suzie
Wong, Wong (Mansing)
Woodward, Dallas J

FOR MORE on this UNBELIEVABLE STORY in our day, and age, see:
FLIGHT 621