In December 1985, the 101st Airborne Division faced a heartbreaking event. A chartered plane carrying 248 of their comrades tragically crashed shortly after departing from Gander, Newfoundland. This incident is an important and somber chapter in U.S. Army history, and it is commemorated each year with profound respect by both the Screaming Eagles and the Canadian community deeply affected by the loss.
Returning from a peacekeeping mission
In 1985, the US Army initiated a six-month peacekeeping mission in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula under the Multinational Force & Observers (MFO). This mission was spearheaded by soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, along with 12 members from the Criminal Investigations Command (CID) and Forces Command (FORSCOM).
Their planned departure from Egypt was set for mid-December. Some service members opted to exchange positions with colleagues who had young children and wished to return home early for the Christmas season. On December 11, a group of 248 personnel boarded a Douglas DC-8-63CF jetliner heading for Fort Campbell, Kentucky, their final destination.
The plane crashes with members of the 101st Airborne onboard
Flight 1285R departed from Cairo, Egypt at 8:35 PM on December 11, 1985. The journey to the United States was planned to extend into the following day, with fuel stops scheduled in Cologne, West Germany and Gander, Newfoundland, Canada. The DC-8 reached Cologne at 1:21 AM and took off again just over an hour later, now with a new flight crew of eight.
At 9:04 AM, the aircraft landed at Gander International Airport. Passengers disembarked while the plane was refueled and inspected externally. It departed at 10:15 AM from runway 22, reaching a speed of 192 MPH. Witnesses reported that the DC-8 seemed to struggle during takeoff.
Upon reaching 198 MPH, the plane began to descend and was observed flying very low over the Trans-Canada Highway. Witnesses who were interviewed after the crash noted seeing a bright glow from the DC-8 before it crashed near Gander Lake, where it fragmented and caught fire. The intensity of the blaze was exacerbated by the additional fuel onboard.
All individuals on board, including the 101st Airborne members, were killed in the crash. At that time, it was the deadliest accident involving a DC-8, a record that stood until Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 crashed six years later during an emergency landing. It remains the deadliest aviation disaster in Canada and the most fatal air incident involving the US Army during peacetime.
The Canadian Aviation Safety Board launches an investigation
Immediately following the plane crash, the Canadian Aviation Safety Board (CASB) sent a response team to gather evidence that would aid them in figuring out what happened. At the end of the investigation, five out of nine board members concluded that during the DC-8’s approach to Gander, conditions were favorable for the formation of ice on the aircraft’s wings. It continued to be exposed to freezing precipitation upon landing and hadn’t been de-iced prior to taking off for Kentucky.
While the members weren’t able to determine the sequence of events that led to the crash, they wrote in their report that “the weight of evidence supports the conclusion that, shortly after lift-off, the aircraft experienced an increase in drag and reduction in lift that resulted in a stall at low altitude from which recovery was not possible.” They went on to say that the cause of the stall was ice contamination on the upper portion of the DC-8’s wings.
Four members of the CASB disagreed, speculating “an in-flight fire that may have resulted from detonations of undetermined origin brought about catastrophic system failures” and downed the plane. They also noted inadequacies with the data recovered. Judge Willard Estey of the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the available evidence didn’t support either conclusion, the fallout for which resulted in the closure of the CASB and the establishment of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.
On the day of the crash, an anonymous caller telephoned a French news agency in Beirut and claimed responsibility on behalf of the Islamic Jihad Organization. However, this was dismissed by both the Canadian and US governments.
The aftermath of the plane crash had a lasting impact on the 101st Airborne
A few days after the plane crash, US President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan visited Fort Campbell to comfort members of the 101st Airborne and the families of those who’d perished. Speaking before the group, he said, “Some people think of members of the military as only warriors, fierce in the martial expertise, but the men and women we mourn today were peacemakers. They were there to protect life and preserve peace, to act as a force for stability and hope and trust.”
Following the recovery period, the bodies of the fallen were repatriated to the US, escorted by their comrades in the 101st Airborne. Since the plane crash, a number of memorials have been erected to honor the victims, including one overlooking Gander Lake and another at Fort Campbell. A Memorial Park also opened in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
The legacy of the crash
Each year, a memorial service is held in Gander for the 256 who lost their lives. The event is live streamed to Fort Campbell, so current members of the 101st Airborne can participate.
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The crash of Flight 1285R has been featured in a number of television shows over the year. Unsolved Mysteries aired an episode about the incident, implying it was connected to the Iran-Contra Affair and was caused by either an explosion, detonation or fire on the DC-8. Discovery Channel’s Mayday also covered the crash in a season 11 episode titled “Split Decision.”