The wooden planks dropped onto the peat formed a raft that carried survivors out

A burned DC-4 lies in a Newfoundland bog at dawn; rescuers improvise a seaplane rescue - did they make it in time?

The wooden planks dropped onto the peat formed a raft that carried survivors out

In this episode, we follow the moments after a Douglas DC-4 struck treetops near Gander, Newfoundland on 18 September 1946. The narrative covers the crash, the difficult terrain of boreal peat, and the improvised decisions rescuers made-could those choices save the survivors?

Date: 18 September 1946 Aircraft: Douglas DC-4, registration OO-CBG People aboard: 43 (37 passengers, 6 crew) Survivors initially: 17 Fatalities at scene: 27

- The flight was the ninth test run of Sabena’s new transatlantic service, aimed at proving the route and aircraft for future commercial service. - Clouds were sitting at ground level over Gander; the crew descended into invisible treetops and the aircraft struck the forest at 02:42. - The crash scattered passengers into branches and burning fuselage sections across dense spruce growing on waterlogged peat with no roads or trails. - Gander tower lost radio contact; a USCG PBY Catalina and a TWA approach plane located the fire but could not reach the site by conventional means. - Rescuers improvised: seaplanes dropped wooden planks onto the peat and used machines not previously used for civilian rescues to access the wreck.

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