103

c/n 103

C-FODP between missions.

Photo: Unknown photographer © September 1975 - Karl E. Hayes Collection

c/n 103

CF-ODP

C-FODP

Entries preceded by dates are extracts from Canadian Department of Transport archives.

Ian Macdonald reports - Not much in this file except for annual Certificate of Airworthiness reports which do at least give us a 20 year record of hours flown).

05-Apr-1956 Certificate of Airworthiness #4694 issued.

05-Apr-1956 Certificate of Registration #16238 issued to Her Majesty The Queen in right of Ontario as represented by Department of Lands & Forests*, Sault Ste Marie, ON.

07-Jun-1974 Certificate of Registration re-issued to reflect change in department name to Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.

23-Jul-1976 crashed and burned on shore of small island taking off from Nym Lake, ON. Gene W. McCauley and four passengers uninjured.

11-Aug-1977 Certificate of Airworthiness expired but apparently overlooked and remained on CCAR until next event triggered cancellation.

The owner on Certificates of Registration were usually abbreviated to just the department name, eg 'Department of Lands & Forests'.

• CF-ODP Department of Lands & Forests, Ontario Provincial Air Service (OPAS). Delivered 20th June 1956, based at Sault Ste.Marie, ON.

• C-FODP Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Sault Ste.Marie, ON. Regd 06-Sep-1972.

Accident: Nym Lake, ON, 23-Jul-1976. Shortly after becoming airborne, the left wing dropped and struck the water. It was a warm, summer's day with a temperature of 23C and a wind of 15 knots. The subsequent report blamed the accident on “improper compensation for wind”. The aircraft turned approximately 150 degrees after the wing struck the water and crashed on the shore of an island. Fire started on impact and consumed most of the aircraft, although there were no injuries to the pilot and four passengers.

Note: The wings and rear fuselage were noted at Carp, ON., Sep-1982, to be used in the repair and rebuild of other Otters.

01-Mar-1984 Certificate of Registration re-issued to reflect name change to Minister of Natural Resources.

• C-FODP Registration cancelled from Canadian Civil Aircraft Register 19-Mar-1984.

Total hours since new as recorded in Canadian Department of Transport archives.

14-Oct-1956 - 195 hours

07-Oct-1957 - 408 hours

20-Sep-1958 - 679 hours

29-Sep-1959 - 927 hours

26-Sep-1960 - 1,205 hours

15-Sep-1961 - 1,543 hours

11-Sep-1962 - 1,780 hours

21-Aug-1963 - 2,055 hours

17-Aug-1964 - 2,349 hours

11-Aug-1965 - 2,594 hours

15-Jul-1966 - 2,856 hours

11-Jul-1967 - 3,092 hours

15-Jul-1968 - 3,371 hours

20-Jun-1969 - 3,551 hours

27-Jun-1970 - 3,822 hours

20-Jul-1971 - 4,094 hours

10-Jul-1972 - 4,424 hours

21-Jul-1973 - 4,653 hours

24-Jun-1974 - 4,838 hours

04-Jul-1975 - 5,191 hours

08-Jul-1976 - 5,586 hours

• Destroyed •

Otter 103, registered CF-ODP to the Department of Lands & Forests, was delivered to the Ontario Provincial Air Service (OPAS) on 20th June 1956, based at Sault Ste.Marie, Ontario. It was their fourth Otter, CF-ODJ, 'ODK and 'ODL having been delivered during 1953. One incident is recorded early in the career of ODP. On 4th October 1957 on a regular requisition flight from Shebandown to Port Arthur, the Otter force landed on the Shebandown River near Sunshine, Ontario due to a broken cylinder. The Otter had been carrying two passengers and 300 pounds of cargo. There was no damage and the engine was repaired. As with the other OPAS Otters, number 103 was re-registered on 6th September 1972 to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources as C-FODP and continued to serve the Province's bush country.

Sadly, the Otter came to grief at Nym Lake, Ontario on 23rd July 1976 and was destroyed. Shortly after becoming airborne, the left wing dropped and struck the water. It was a warm, summer's day with a temperature of 23C and a wind of 15 knots. The subsequent report blamed the accident on “improper compensation for wind”. The aircraft turned approximately 150 degrees after the wing struck the water and crashed on the shore of an island. Fire started on impact and consumed most of the aircraft, although there were no injuries to the pilot and four passengers. The wings and rear fuselage were noted at Carp, Ontario in September 1982, to be used in the repair and rebuild of other Otters. The registration C-FODP was officially cancelled in March 1984.