2 Days Before a Fatal Hercules Crash, I Was Taken Off the Flight

March 29, 1985 is a date I have carried with me for more than 41 years. At the time, I was a Canadian Forces junior pilot serving with 435 Transport Squadron at CFB Edmonton (Namao). Three of our CC-130 Hercules were scheduled to take part in an RCAF anniversary flypast followed by a battle break. I had been selected to be one of the pilots in the formation flight. Two days before the flypast, I was replaced by Captain Kevin Kennedy. On the evening of March 29, two of those Hercules collided during the battle break. Kevin and nine other airmen were killed. This was an extraordinarily difficult video for me to make. I've thought about that night, the men we lost, and the simple change in circumstances that kept me from being aboard for more than four decades. There are memories here that I don't often talk about. After the accident, I was assigned as an assisting officer to the wife of one of the men who died. Decades later, the tragedy came back into my life when I saw a newspaper article from the son of USAF exchange pilot Lonnie Register, who was looking for people who had known his father. I contacted him, and we eventually spoke by telephone. In this Pilot Story, I'm not trying to sensationalize the accident or second-guess the men who were flying that night. I'm telling you what I remember: being selected for the flypast, being replaced shortly before it happened, what occurred on March 29, and what the loss of ten fellow airmen meant to those of us who remained. This video is dedicated to the ten men who lost their lives on March 29, 1985. Capt. Robert W. Drake Capt. Kevin E. Kennedy Capt. David I. Mahaffey Capt. Lonnie B. Register Jr., USAF Capt. John D. Thornton Capt. Brian J. Tulloch Capt. David A. Whalen WO William I. Oness Sgt. Robert H. Brown Cpl. Michel Tony Doucet They were more than names in an accident report. They were husbands, fathers, sons, friends and fellow airmen. May they always be remembered. — Ian McLean Former Canadian Forces pilot 435 Transport Squadron