Into the Abyss (37 page)

1
“He closed his eyes and tried to conjure some long-forgotten God”: Deschamps, “Once Upon an Angel,” 8.

2
“he was not going to get out of here alive”: Ibid., 9.

3
“having kids as nothing more than an outdated biological urge”: Ibid., 10.

4
“Scott knew with utter certainty that he was looking into the face of an otherworldly presence: God, an angel or a benevolent spirit”: Ibid., 11.

5
“Larry stepped behind him and embraced Paul in a firm bear hug”: Archambault, “They Called Me a Hero,” 31.

6
“Even as a child, he had felt his dad’s constant disapproval”: Daniel Archambault interview, April 1, 2009.

7
“had talked her doctor into letting her go home early to be with her husband and children”: Tom Barrett, “Father and 14 Children Fear Future,”
Edmonton Journal
, October 23, 1984, 1.

8
“someone below had to be alive and cycling the switch”: Interview with Hazen Codner, June 28, 2011.

9
“Vivid in his mind were the images of corpses lying frozen and lifeless in the car wrecks he’d responded to during his time as an RCMP officer in northern Alberta”: Deschamps, “Once Upon an Angel,” 7.

10
“fire off a couple of shots and bring the planes circling back”: Archambault, “They Called Me a Hero,” 37.

11
“afraid that the fire might spread and gut the fuselage”: Ibid., 33.

12
“We’re alive! We’re here!”
: Ibid., 31.

13
“My wallet. It’s still in the plane”: Larry Shaben interview, October 10, 2004.

14
“If you had one wish you could have fulfilled right now”: Ibid.

15
“I’d tell my wife I’m sorry”: Ibid.

16
“When this is all over we’re going to get together and have a few drinks”: Archambault, “They Called Me a Hero,” 35–36.

17
“Scott, do you know that you’re a sniveller?”: Ibid., 36.

18
“Campfire on the ground!”: Codner interview, June 28, 2011.

1
“In daylight, he saw everything in gruesome detail”: Archambault, “They Called Me a Hero,” 38.

2
“An orb of ice the size of a racket ball hung from his mouth”: Ibid.

3
“Larry, wake up!”: Deschamps, “Once Upon An Angel,” 13.

4
“You must be stoned or something”: Archambault, “They Called Me a Hero,” 38.

5
“We’re going to be found here, so we stay together”: Ibid., 35.

6
“We’re not going to last much longer”: Deschamps, “Once Upon an Angel,” 15.

7
“That’s strange
. He was trying to figure out why on earth a canoe would be in the middle of the wilderness”: Interview with Bill Burton, September 23, 2011.

8
“The guys on the ground need your help”: Interview with Brian Dunham, July 19, 2011.

9
“You don’t by any chance have a Thermos of coffee in your pack?”: Archambault, “They Called Me a Hero,” 39.

10
“I was just so sure Grant was one of the survivors”: Peter Stockland, “Notley Kids Broke News,”
Edmonton Sun
, October 22, 1984, 12.

11
“I think she suspected because the Mounties had turned off the radio”: Allan Kellog, “Knocking on the Door of the Dome,”
Edmonton Journal
, April 14, 2007.

12
“What are you doing with that knife? Get rid of it”: Archambault, “They Called Me a Hero,” 30.

13
“He can’t forget this because his gun and handcuffs are inside”: Ibid., 57.

14
“It was the greatest feeling in the world”: Ibid., 40.

1
“He saved my life”: John Colebourn, “Prisoner Saves Officer,”
Edmonton Sun
, October 21, 1984, 21.

2
“Larry wanted to step down from the plane under his own steam”: Giffin interview, June 2, 2011.

3
“The memory of the two girls running by me crying is locked in my mind as though it happened yesterday”: Interview with Byron Christopher, October 8, 2011.

4
“Was he killed or wasn’t he?”: Hopkins interview, June 14, 2011.

5
“Grant’s gone”: Ibid.

6
“I had to be chained to my bed like an animal”: Archambault, “They Called Me a Hero,” 44–45.

7
“He saved Deschamps’ life”: Larry Shaben, October 10, 2004.

8
“Duncan took Erik’s hand and held it so long that Erik felt uncomfortable”: Vogel interview, October 21, 2003.

9
“I’m not a rapist or a rat, so why the isolation?”: Archambault, “They Called Me a Hero,” 48.

10
“Paul Archambault did an outstanding job”: Tom Barrett, “Shaben Thankful Number Not Called,”
Edmonton Journal
, October 22, 1984, 1.

11
“I just did what I thought had to be done”: Gary Poignant, “Prisoner Downplays ‘Hero’ Role,”
Edmonton Sun
, October 22, 1984, 21.

12
“He lasted hours”: Darcy Henton, “Dying Man’s Moans Haunt Air Crash Hero,”
Edmonton Journal
, October 23, 1984.

13
“He was quiet and respectful”: Interview with Kenneth Staples, October 14, 2011.

14
“The judge then excused him from the courtroom”: Canadian Press, “Charges Dismissed, Crash Hero Freed,”
The Globe and Mail
, October 23, 1984.

15
“They smelled something fierce of fire”: Archambault, “They Called Me a Hero,” 51.

16
“didn’t even have the coins to wash his smoke-smelling clothes”: Canadian Press, “Charges Dismissed, Crash Hero Freed,”
The Globe and Mail
, October 23, 1984.

17
“That way my feet are on the ground and I like the view”: Gary Poignant, “Prisoner Downplays ‘Hero’ Role”,
Edmonton Sun
, October 22, 1984, 21.

18
“Like, one minute they couldn’t give a shit who I was and then the next minute I’m something great”: Havard Gould, “Archambault Here,” CBC Newsday, television footage, Ottawa, January 4, 1985.

19
“I didn’t do anything different than a whole lot of other people would have done in that situation”: Citizen Staff and News Services, “Hero of Crash Wants to Be Left Alone,”
Ottawa Citizen
, October 23, 1984.

20
“I don’t want to get hounded”: Ibid.

21
“he hoped Albertans who wanted to contribute to a fund for him ‘won’t go crazy” ’: Agnes Buttner, “Brighter Prospects for Hero,”
Edmonton Journal
, October 26, 1984, A12.

1
“What the hell were you thinking?”: Vogel interview, October 21, 2003.

2
“They’re going to use any statement you make to press criminal charges”: Ibid.

3
“If they persist in this matter of operation for a much longer period we are virtually certain to be faced with a fatality”: Memorandum from Inspector Griffiths, re: Wapiti Aviation Ltd, August 17, 1984. Courtesy of Dale Wells.

4
“the Company failed to meet a regular maintenance check on part of its fleet”: Canadian Air Transportation Administration, media statement, October 22, 1984. Courtesy of Dale Wells.

5
“he was considered conscientious and a careful pilot”: Record of telephone conversation between Dave Klippenstein and Dale Wells, Oct. 22, 1984. Courtesy of Dale Wells.

6
“lawsuit against Wapiti alleging ‘wanton or reckless operations’ ”: Letter from Leighton Decore, Decore and Company, November 17, 1984. Courtesy of Dale Wells.

7
“Dale would also lose his status as chief engineer”: Letter to Wapiti Aviation Ltd. from D.A. Davidson, Regional Director, Aviation Regulations for Ministers of Transport, December 18, 1984. Courtesy of Dale Wells.

8
“lacked sufficient knowledge of the intricacies of the present operations to permit him to competently discharge his duties as operations manager”: Letter to Wapiti Aviation Ltd. from L.A. Klein, Regional Manager, Air Carrier Operations, Transport Canada, December 19, 1984. Courtesy of Dale Wells. In a 1990 Federal Court of Canada judgment, Justice Allison Walsh noted: “Unlike the case of Delbert Wells, all the witnesses speak highly of the work and ability of his son, Dale Wells. He was carrying on several jobs as Chief Pilot, Chief Maintenance Engineer, Chief Flying Instructor and Designated Flight Test Examiner. In March and April 1983, the Department of Transport, through its regional superintendent Aeronautical Engineering and regional superintendent Air Carriers approved forms in which Delbert Wells was formally designated as Director of Flight Operations and Dale Wells as Director of Maintenance, Chief Pilot and Chief Flying Instructor. While Dale Wells was qualified for the positions he occupied as the airline grew he had too many different duties for one person to accomplish. Delbert Wells’ qualifications to act as operations manager (Director of Flight Operations) were never thoroughly checked.” Judgment in Court Action No. T-1637-85 between Sally Margaret Swanson and Her Majesty the Queen, February 6, 1990, 16–17.

9
“I feel it could turn my life around. I want to put the past behind me, starting today”: Jack Aubry, “Quebec Court Gives Hero Probation for Break and Enter,”
Edmonton Journal
, January 9, 1985, B1.

10
“We will not point an accusing finger at anybody”: Canadian Aviation Safety Board,
Wapiti Aviation Ltd. Inquiry Proceedings, H40006
, 3.

11
“Did you have an opportunity to sleep?”: Ibid., 149.

12
“They thanked him for telling the truth”: Vogel interview, October 21, 2003.

13
“I burned it in the fire”: Canadian Aviation Safety Board,
Wapiti Aviation Ltd. Inquiry Proceedings, H40006
, 163.

14
“I believed I was farther ahead than I was”: Ibid., 201.

15
“has the operations manager ever rejected a request by a pilot for a co-pilot?”: Canadian Aviation Safety Board,
Wapiti Aviation Ltd. Inquiry
Proceedings, H40006
, 262. Delbert Wells did not testify at the inquiry. A medical report submitted at the opening of proceedings stated that he should not be submitted in his present medical condition due to the possible difficulties of testifying.
Wapiti Aviation Ltd. Inquiry Proceedings, H40006
, 16.

16
“I had never at any time told any pilot to go take a look and go down to 800 feet”: Ibid., 305.

17
“I could see no reason whatsoever for any lack of sleep”: Ibid., 330.

18
“I only did what I had to do”: Douglas Sweet, “Plane Crash Hero ‘Did What I Had to Do,’ ”
Edmonton Journal
, March 2, 1985.

19
“Maybe now he’ll be proud of me”: Christopher interview, September 30, 2011.

20
“he’d grown up a lot”: “Crash Hero,”
Midday
, segment D, CBC television footage, April 16, 1985.

1
“That experience definitely changed my outlook in the sense that I now have a greater appreciation of life”: Maureen Buchholz, “Survivor Changed,”
The Peace Arch News
, December 1, 1984.

2
“So if you haven’t done the things that you’ve always wanted to do, it’s time to do them”: “Deschamps Quits,” CBC television footage,
Edmonton Newsday
, February 27, 1985.

3
“What am I doing wasting my time here?”
: Deschamps interview, December 5, 2007.

4
“a wrecked ship for every mile of coast along the Graveyard of the Pacific”: Graveyard of the Pacific, Virtual Museum of Canada,
www.museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca
.

5
“This is the pilot who flew the plane”: Vogel interview, October 14, 2011.

6
“Never touch me when I’m sleeping or I’ll take a swing at you”: Author correspondence with Vogel, November 9, 2011.

7
“your services will be required until approximately October 11, 1985”
: Erik Vogel, personal files.

8
“Corona Mafia”: Warren Michaels, “Archambault Pizza,” CBC television footage,
Edmonton Newsday
, July 2, 1985.

9
“He looked like Grizzly Adams”: Interview with Elpeda Palmer, November 19, 2011.

10
“Paul was close to everyone and he was very loyal”: Interview with Donna Bougiridis, November 11, 2011.

11
“I’m striving to be better for myself—mentally, physically, morally—and I’m not doing too bad”: Warren Michaels, “Archambault Pizza,” CBC television footage,
Edmonton Newsday
, July 2, 1985.

12
“Ed Sullivan had appeared on the show”: Paul appeared on CBC television’s
Front Page Challenge
, May 4, 1985.

13
“that’s how I get around”: Interview with Sue Wink, October 20, 2011.

14
“Do you consider yourself a brave man?”:
Front Page Challenge
, CBC television footage, May 4, 1985.

15
“He’s just a good friend”: Wink interview, October 20, 2011.

16
“I can’t go a day without thinking about it”: Canadian Press, “Pilot to Tell Story at Fatality Inquiry,”
Edmonton Sun
, November 9, 1985.

17
“do you have any issues with the law?”: Author correspondence with Vogel, October 27, 2011.

18
“I just did it”:
Herald
Staff Writer, “Pilot to Tell Story at Fatality Inquiry,”
Daily Herald Tribune
, Grande Prairie, November 9, 1985.

1
“He couldn’t bring himself to examine the contents of that box”: Interview with Randy Wright, January 6, 2011.

2
“I had to prove to myself that I hadn’t lost my nerve”: Ibid.

3
“Not many people had that kind of one-on-one access”: Ibid.

4
“What do you think I can do to solve this problem?”: Interview with Lindsay Cherney, December 8, 2010.

5
“in order to be an effective government, he needed to include people”: Jim McQuarrie, producer, “Generations: A Hundred Years in Alberta,” CBC documentary on Muslim families in Alberta, December 28, 2005.