Its more than 60 years since the Air Canada flight 831 crash after taking off from Montreal… all 118 passengers and crew were killed.
I was booked to be on that flight weeks ahead, following an honorable discharge from the RCN. At that time there was no direct flights from Halifax to Vancouver, so a connecting flight at Montreal was a necessary intermediate flight.
The day I was scheduled to leave, I had an unexpectedly met a girl on a Halifax street I had once dated. She was in a graduating group of Victorian Order of Nurses in beautiful blue capes, perhaps waiting to get pictures done.
Recognizing one another, even though my flight itinerary was scheduled for later that same evening I impulsively asked her to meet me for a farewell drink at a recently opened mixed gender * bar, to my surprise she agreed.
While waiting at the bar for her to arrive, I realized it was going to be a close call to make it to the Air Canada desk in time. So I phoned to ask if I could take a later flight and was told I could do so if I wanted to come there for transportation to the airport at 5 a.m. So I made a last minute decision to delay my flight and corresponding connecting flight #831!
After a brief social evening at the bar, I took the nursing graduate home in a cab to the outskirts of Halifax. Snow was falling quite heavily, and I returned to a motel room for a short rest.
After a quick shower and brisk morning walk in light snow in semi-darkness, I arrived at the Air Canada desk. Staff had just opened up their Nova Scotian hotel lobby desk. I was puzzled why they appeared to be nervously whispering to each other while glancing at me as I waited for ground transportation to the airport.
Apparently they had already learned of the connecting flight DC-8 Trans Canada Airlines disaster between Quebec and Ontario, no doubt realizing I had been booked to be on it many days in advance! More than 100 passengers and crew were killed, likely due to a pilot pre-flight error.
Indeed, as Solomon so well said it “…time and unforeseen events overtake them all.” (Eccl. 9:11) Our lives are so limited by circumstances we have little or no control over, I most truly sympathize with those who lost family members on flight #831. Thankfully we all have hope to see loved ones again in the future provided we exercise faith in the loving ransom of Christ Jesus… while that opportunity still exits. (please visit JW.org for more information on our resurrection hope!
*mixed gender bars were a ‘first’ for Nova Scotia at that time!