Vancouver British ColumbiaIan Henry Bell was born about 1916 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, the son of Edward Crosby Bell (1888, Sunderland. England - 1917, WW1 , France) and Jane Daisy Holm Adam (1886, Glasgow, Scotland - 1977, Selkirk Street, Vancouver, BC., Canada). I believe he was married with a son James. On 8 April 1954 Ian was the pilot of, Trans-Canada Airlines Flight 9, a scheduled flight from Winnipeg to Vancouver, with a planned stop at Calgary. About a third of the way through its journey whilst approaching Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan from the east the airliner was involved in a catastrophic mid air collision with a Royal Canadian Air Force Harvard trainer. Thirty-seven people died in the crash. 31 passengers and four TCA crew members (including Ian) on board the North Star, the student pilot of the Harvard, and one woman on the ground. It was the worst aviation accident in Canada up to that time. A detailed account of the story is available at http://www.ephemeraltreasures.net/tca-crash-moose-jaw-part-1.html. Also commemorated on the gravestone is his maternal grandmother Isabella Fraser (1853, Resolis, Ross-shire - 1945, West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver, BC., Canada) who married Hugh Adam (1843, Ayr, Ayrshire - 1908, Auchentiber, Kilwinning, Ayrshire).
Bell, Ian Henry ()
Killed 1954-04-08
Birth Date: 1917
Born: Alberta
son of Edward Crosby Bell and Jeanie Daisy Holm Adam
Home: Vancouver British Columbia
Enlistment:
Enlistment Date: Unknown
Service
Civilian
Unit
Base
Rank
Position
Captain
Service Numbers
www.findagrave.comThis incident involved multiple aircraft:
- North Star C4-1 Serial: TCA223
- Harvard Mk.IIB Serial: 3309
All the above aircraft in the above list are referenced in this report.
North Star TCA223
North Star C4-1 TCA223
Unspecified 1954-April-08 to 1954-April-08
() ()
From Aviation Safety network:
The Canadair C-4 was on a flight to Vancouver and had been cleared on an IFR flightplan flying at 6000 feet on Green Airway 1 between Winnipeg and Calgary, which was the first intermediate stop.At 09:57 an RCAF Harvard Mk. II took off from RCAF Station Moose Jaw for a navigation cross-country exercise. The Harvard was climbing to 9000 feet, crossed the Airway at 6000 feet and collided with the C-4. A large portion of the wreckage fell on a house which was destroyed by fire, killing the only occupant. The Harvard pilot and all 35 occupants of the C-4 where also killed.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "1) Failure on the part of the pilots of both aircraft to maintain a proper lookout, the onus of responsibility for keeping out of the way being with the Harvard aircraft as it had the other on its own right side. 2) The Harvard aircraft in crossing the airway climbed through altitudes normally used by aircraft flying along the airway. 3) The Board up to the present has been unable to determine whether the window post on the left side of the Canadair C4-1 aircraft hid the Harvard aircraft from view, but there are indications that this was possible."
Aviation Safety networkCanadair North Star CL-2 CL-4 CL-5 C54GM
Canadair CL-2 (C-54GM) North Star, RCAF (Serial No. 17514). c/n 121
With No. 425 (T) Squadron.
The Canadair North Star is a 1940s Canadian development, for Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA), of the Douglas DC-4. Instead of radial piston engines used by the Douglas design, Canadair used Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 engines to achieve a higher cruising speed of 325 mph (523 km/h) compared with the 227 mph (365 km/h) of the standard DC-4. Requested by TCA in 1944, the prototype flew on 15 July 1946. The type was used by various airlines and by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). It proved to be reliable but noisy when in service through the 1950s and into the 1960s. Some examples continued to fly into the 1970s, converted to cargo aircraft.Wikipedia and Harold Skaarup web page
Wikipedia North Star TransportNorth Star TCA223
North Star C4-1 TCA223
1954-April-08 Accident: Loc: Moose Jaw Names: Adamson | Adamson | Baugh | Bell | Belzberg | Blanck | Brook | Cameron | Craig | Crossen | Edwards | Finney | George | Gillett | Goodall | Goodall | Guthrie | Hadwen | Hunter | Hutton | Matheson | McLean | McVey | Nelson | Nelson | Nelson | Penner | Penner | Pirie | Quinney | Reid | Reid | Smart | Stanton | Sweny | Sweny | Wilson
Harvard 3309
Harvard Mk.IIB 3309
Used by No. 14 Service Flying Training School at RCAF Station Aylmer, Ontario. Used post war by No. 402 Squadron (Auxiliary) at Stevenson Field, Manitoba; and at RCAF Station Gimli, Manitoba. Category A damage on 8 April 1954. Mid air collision with Trans Canada Airlines North Star CF-TFW, near Moose Jaw.1942-03-09 Taken on Strength 2019-08-20
1942-September-29 Accident: 14 Service Flying Training School Loc: Aerodrome Names: Lipsit | Mcdonnell
1943-October-21 Accident: 14 Service Flying Training School Loc: Aerodrome Names: Scott
1944-February-28 Accident: 14 Service Flying Training School Loc: R1 Yarmouth Names: Mckitrick | Reekie
1954-April-08 Accident: Loc: Moose Jaw Names: Thorrat
1954-05-18 Struck off Strength Struck off after crash, see comments. 2019-08-20
North Star TCA223 C4-1 - Unspecified - 1954-04-08 to 1954-04-08
6 Group Unavailable
From Aviation Safety network:
The Canadair C-4 was on a flight to Vancouver and had been cleared on an IFR flightplan flying at 6000 feet on Green Airway 1 between Winnipeg and Calgary, which was the first intermediate stop.At 09:57 an RCAF Harvard Mk. II took off from RCAF Station Moose Jaw for a navigation cross-country exercise. The Harvard was climbing to 9000 feet, crossed the Airway at 6000 feet and collided with the C-4. A large portion of the wreckage fell on a house which was destroyed by fire, killing the only occupant. The Harvard pilot and all 35 occupants of the C-4 where also killed.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "1) Failure on the part of the pilots of both aircraft to maintain a proper lookout, the onus of responsibility for keeping out of the way being with the Harvard aircraft as it had the other on its own right side. 2) The Harvard aircraft in crossing the airway climbed through altitudes normally used by aircraft flying along the airway. 3) The Board up to the present has been unable to determine whether the window post on the left side of the Canadair C4-1 aircraft hid the Harvard aircraft from view, but there are indications that this was possible."