Two CF 100’s crash on the Base
I was in the PX [that’d be the food store], buying my favourite fries and gravy when all of a sudden there was an impact on the earth and the ground shook under my feet. The lights dimmed and flickered. The only noise, after the ominous thud, was the sound of change raining down on the counters as if someone had hit the jackpot. Everyone froze for a second or two, expecting someone to explain to them what was going on.
People took to the streets in panic. I followed the crowds towards the smoke in the sky. That’s where the hospital was. A fire? An explosion? There? That would be too horrible. What was it?
I found a safe place to witness this horrific scene as it unfolded before me. I sat on the steps of the church across the street from the hospital and watched the fire blaze.
We were later to learn the tragic news that two CF 100’s had collided in mid air. The pilots ejected and survived, and the planes crashed into the ground. One landed in a farmer’s field, making sacrifice of a Holstein and the other, on the hospital, which was burning before my eyes.
I took the bus back to the PMQ’s and told Mom what had happened. Since we didn’t have any telephones, the wives of the pilots had to worry and wait for news if their husbands were alive or not. There was a phone at the office which was useful if the office were open. I didn’t know if these fretful wives used the phone that day.
