An 'A' crash was a shovel job

Heroes Remember

An 'A' crash was a shovel job

Transcript

To me this was an area that wasn't... I talk about it today. I've talked to a couple of clubs about it, and they didn't know what was going on. We would have five or six crews going steady, picking up downed aircraft all over Ontario and Quebec and that was just steady, steady going. They were... I don't know if you want me to get into this now or not. They were, they were, they would be categorized before we got there. An A crash was a shovel job, a B was repairable with contractors, and a C we could do it ourselves. Very few you could fly out. Some, some you could fly out, but not very many, I'll tell you. Because these guys were, they were pushing them so fast from elementary trainers into Harvards that you were, they were just, you know, they had retractable undercarriage, variable pitch props, and a Harvard was only good for about three hours, three hours and a half in the air, so... And they held about 95 gallons of fuel, so they were burning up 30 gallons an hour. So, if they got lost at all, you know... There was so many, so many of them, and they were a lot of them that were mechanical faults, a few, but there were a lot of them that... A few were nonsense, as well, you know. People playing chicken and things like that. I can show you a couple of those. And they, but some would get lost in the bush up north, and wouldn't be found ‘til spring maybe. Some hit the lakes. They were just, just oodles of them.

Description

Mr. MacKenzie gives a general description of aircraft recovery.

Grant MacKenzie

Grant Mackenzie was born in Harriston, Ontario, in 1923. He finished school and went to work at a local auto dealer. He attempted to serve overseas as a pilot or electronics technician, but colour blindness prevented him from doing so. Instead, Mr. Mackenzie joined 6 Repair Depot in Trenton, Ontario, where he was an aero engine mechanic. He was also a member of one of the teams tasked with recovering parts from aircraft which crashed during training exercises. Upon completion of his military service, Mr. Mackenzie rejoined the automotive industry.

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