Ever Hear About the Plane Crash Near Burgoynes Cove?

Tucked away in the tiny community of Burgoyne's Cove is a plane crash that is relatively unknown to most Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

On 18 March 1953, Brigadier General Richard E. Ellsworth was co-piloting a Convair RB-36H Peacemaker bomber on a 25-hour journey as part of a simulated combat mission flying from Lajes, Azores back to the Rapid City Air Force Base.

As part of their exercise, the bomber's crew was observing radio silence and had switched off their radar guidance, flying via celestial navigation. They had planned to fly low over the ocean, steadily increasing to higher altitudes before reaching the mountainous countryside of Newfoundland.

Late into the night, the aircraft struck bad weather and went off course, reaching Newfoundland 90 minutes earlier than planned. At 4:10 am near Burgoyne's Cove, with ice pellets, fog, freezing drizzle, and visibility estimated at less than 200 m, the plane struck an 273 metre hill travelling at a speed of 374 km/h.

The aircraft's propellers severed the tops of pine trees while the plane's left wing hit the ground, tore off, and spilled fuel.

All 23 on board were killed on impact. That same night, a Boeing SB-29 Superfortress search and rescue plane was sent out to assist in search efforts, but crashed 320 km west in St. George's Bay.