Convent Crash

The Convent Crash, also known as the Orléans air disaster and Villa St. Louis disaster, occurred on May 15, 1956, after a CF-100 fighter jet crashed into the Villa St. Louis in the community of Orléans, Ontario. 15 people were killed in the crash: 11 members of the Grey Nuns, two aviators, a civilian servant at the Villa and the chaplain, a retired naval padre.[1]

Events

At 10:37 p.m. May 15, 1956, two CF-100s were launched from their base at RCAF Station Uplands (located south of Ottawa) to identify an unknown aircraft heading towards Montréal. The plane was identified as a RCAF North Star flying from Resolute Bay to Dorval Airport. The two planes climbed to 33,000 feet to practice interception techniques and burn off excess fuel before returning to base.

One of the aircraft returned to base, but the other remained airborne longer to burn off more excess fuel. However, something malfunctioned on the plane. One story is that the oxygen masks of the two crewmen malfunctioned and the men lost consciousness, though the cause has never been officially determined. The plane descended at a speed of nearly 680 mph and crashed into the Villa St. Louis.

Impact

At the time the plane crashed many of the occupants of the building were asleep. The three-storey, seventy-room building was run by the Grey Nuns. The two crewmen of the plane were killed instantly upon impact with the building. Then the fuel of the plane ignited and a fire ensued. Some of the occupants of the building jumped from windows. Others remained trapped in the building frantically trying to open windows. Victims unable to escape their rooms died of smoke inhalation. The fire was extinguished in the early hours of the next day.[2]

Convent Crash memorial

Legacy

A memorial 20-foot cross adorned with a fighter aircraft, surrounded by 15 stones taken from the rubble of Villa St-Louis is dedicated to the memory of the fifteen victims of the Orléans Aviation Disaster. The memorial was erected behind Villa St-Louis on May 13, 2009 by a group of Orléans veterans and members of the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa.[1]

A ceremony marked the 50th anniversary of Villa St-Louis disaster at the Residence Saint-Louis long term care facility which was built on the same site as the old Villa St-Louis. The ceremony was organized by three former members of the RCAF in co-operation with the Sisters of Charity who run the Residence Saint-Louis and the Orléans Legion.[3]

References
  1. "Orléans Aviation Disaster Memorial". National Inventory of Canadian Military Memorials. Canadian Department of National Defence. 2008-04-16. Archived from the original on 2014-05-20. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  2. "Jet Crash at Villa St. Louis". Ottawa through time from the Andrews-Newton Photographs. City of Ottawa Archives. Retrieved 2011-11-23.
  3. Sherwin, Fred (2008-04-16). "Orléans Aviation Disaster 50th anniversary". Orleans Online. Archived from the original on 20 May 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2014.

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