On Wednesday, September 22, 2010, at 0747 hrs, Alaskan Daylight Savings Time, exactly 15 years later, Colonel Malo, Wing Commander of 22 Wing/Canadian Forces Base (CFB) North Bay, unveiled a monument dedicated in memory to the crew of the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) E-3 call sign Yukla 27 that went down just outside Elmendorf Air Force Base (AFB), Alaska in 1995.
The new monument, centrally located at 22 Wing/CFB North Bay, is an especially fitting tribute to those who perished on that fateful day given that one of the Canadians, Sergeant David L. Pitcher, an Aerospace Control Operator, served at 22 Wing. The new operations complex, which opened in October 2006, and is home to the Canadian Air Defence Sector (CADS), has been rightly named in his honour. The four-sided etched black granite houses a replica of the aircraft, (tail number AF770354), mounted on top. The front side lists the names, ranks, and nationalities of the 24-member crew. The other three sides display details of the accident, outlines the role of the AWACS, and describes 22 Wing’s ties to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the AWACS community.
Yukla 27 was airborne for only 40 seconds before the flight ended in tragedy. Accident investigators officially confirmed that the crash was caused by bird strikes.
