Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 3
Lockheed 18-08A Lodestar · Stall for undetermined reasons, possibly due to icing
From Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) to Vancouver International Airport (YVR)
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 15 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 15
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Airline
Lockheed 18-08A Lodestar
- Aircraft type
- Lockheed 18
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- CF-TDF
- Operator
- Trans-Canada Air Lines
- Onboard fatalities
- 15
- Route
- From Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ)To Vancouver International Airport (YVR)
Approximate · Estimated position: Vancouver, near the place the Wikipedia article names. Not the accident site.
From the Wikipedia article
On April 28, 1947, a Lockheed 18-08A Lodestar operating as Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 3 crashed near Mount Elsay in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, killing all 15 occupants. The wreckage was not discovered until 1992.
Crash
The aircraft took off from Toronto Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Ontario, en route to Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, with a stopover at Lethbridge Airport in Lethbridge, Alberta. It crashed at approximately 11:13 p.m. while on approach to Vancouver International Airport in low visibility. A search and rescue operation involving 19 aircraft, four crash boats, a supply vessel and a United States Coast Guard craft was launched in a large area but got suspended a few days later as no wreckage or occupants were located.
The wreckage was discovered by two hikers in 1992 on a wooded hillside in a remote area west of Mount Elsay. Searchers were led to the site on September 27, 1994. Two memorials were set up at the crash site on the 48th anniversary.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
It is believed that the aircraft stalled and crashed in a pretty steep attitude, possibly due to icing.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 3” (revision 1372143421, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 3
- Revision
- 1372143421 · 2026-08-30 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q117101558
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 3" (page 82464292, revision 1372143421)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- place the Wikipedia infobox site links (Wikidata coordinates)
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- flight number in the article title
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.