Page 19 - September 2019

That was the spark that was needed. I laid it all out for Nothing seemed to work over the years until now. A
them what I thought would have to happen. I said the lunch in 2017 and then Dr. Don Kapusta took the
only way you are going to find the plane is going in with baton and went full speed ahead and here we are
Sonar equipment. I said in fairness to people over the today.
years the only thing that was available was a rope and a
The big story is how aviation built Saskatchewan,
grappling hook.
how aviation helped Indigenous people in northern
Based on how the plane was sitting upside down, the communities. If it wasn’t for the bush pilots a lot of
chance of even snagging one of those pontoons would this wouldn’t have happened up there … they haul
have been pretty tough. In the end it has come to freight, they haul groceries and help people that
fruition were sick .. you name it, they did it and aviation was
a major part of that.
I feel proud of what I was able to do; I’m just one small
piece in the puzzle. I like to think I maybe lit the fuse and Cessna 180
got it rolling, but others picked the baton up and ran
with it.

They believed what I had to say and ironically Morris
told me where he thought the plane was and looking at
the location on the map of the lake, that plane was
found so close to where he said it would be found it still
boggles my mind

Even though I was 12 years old, I remember Raymond
and his moustache. Someone who was living not that far
away from you … all of a sudden he is gone … being a It was the direct link into all these areas. This
small town of 2,500 or 3,000 people everybody knew particular airplane is the only one in existence with
everybody else but it was probably more emotional for the original Saskatchewan government airways
me now with it having been found knowing I helped and colours on it, so there is an important historical
believed it would be found and the two doctors believed significance with that.
what I said to them.
Basically it is a story of aviation in Saskatchewan in
And the rest now is history. It was almost like it was general, especially the northern part of the province
supposed to happen. It was mapped out and within 15 … it was how the province was built over the years.
months of it being located on the side scan sonar, it was
found. Maurice; There was a 93 year old eye witness .. he
couldn’t physically see the plane go into the lake but
He had practised medicine in Meadow Lake and now he heard it that morning. He heard the plane circling
they are both in Toronto. Morris Gran passed away in and then he heard a loud crash.
February 2007 in Meadow Lake
I can’t say enough good things about the people up
The plane was found around 6:30, around suppertime, there who helped our crew.
on July 31 of 2018 and Marcella passed away at 5:30 the
following morning so she never knew the plane had
been found. It was just a matter of hours differential
there.
When the plane was found, I received a text message
from Dr. Don Kapusta. I was probably one of the first
people to know it was found.

It became very emotional all over again because you
hang on to a story and a belief for so many years. We’re
talking 59 years, it never really left the back of my mind,
hoping in some way it could be found.