In December 1985, the 101st Airborne Division suffered its most devastating single-day loss when a passenger plane, carrying 236 of its members, crashed shortly after taking off from Gander International Airport in Newfoundland. This tragic event remains one of the deadliest days in US Army history and is commemorated each year by the Screaming Eagles and the community near the crash site.
Returning from a peacekeeping mission
In 1985, the US Army deployed to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula for a six-month peacekeeping mission as part of the Multinational Force & Observers (MFO). The contingent mainly consisted of troops from the 3rd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne. It also included 12 members from the Criminal Investigations Command (CID) and Forces Command (FORSCOM).
Scheduled to depart Egypt in mid-December, some servicemen had traded places with others who had young children and hoped to return earlier to begin their Christmas holidays. On December 11, 248 personnel boarded a Douglas DC-8-63CF jetliner, bound for their final destination of Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
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 back to the United States was scheduled to extend into the following day, with refueling stops in Cologne, West Germany, and Gander, Newfoundland, Canada. The DC-8 landed in Cologne at 1:21 AM and departed just over an hour later with a fresh flight crew of eight.
At 9:04 AM, the plane arrived at Gander International Airport, where passengers disembarked while it was refueled and underwent an external inspection. At 10:15 AM, the DC-8 took off from runway 22, reaching a speed of 192 MPH. Witnesses later reported that the aircraft appeared to encounter difficulties during takeoff.
Upon reaching 198 MPH, the plane began to lose altitude and was observed crossing the Trans-Canada Highway at a very low height. After the crash, witnesses recalled seeing a bright glow emanating from the aircraft before it struck the ground near Gander Lake, where it broke apart and erupted into flames. The fire was exacerbated by the large amount of fuel the aircraft had recently taken on.
All those aboard the plane, including members of the 101st Airborne Division, lost their lives in the crash. At the time, it was the deadliest accident involving a DC-8 until Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 crashed six years later during an emergency landing. To this day, it remains the deadliest plane crash in Canadian history 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 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.
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.”