Commission to Inquire into and Report upon the Circumstances Surrounding the Crash of a Douglas DC 8F Aircraft, Registration CF-TJN, at Ste-Thérèse, Québec on the 29th day of November, 1963 (Canada) : The Commission to Inquire into and Report Upon the Circumstances Surrounding the Crash of a Douglas DC 8F Aircraft, Registration CF-TJN, at Ste-Thérèse, Québec on the 29th day of November, 1963 was established under Order in Council P.C. 1544, 8 October 1964, under Part I of the Inquiries Act (R.S.C., 1952, c.154) and on the recommendation of the prime minister. The Commission was mandated to inquire into and report upon the circumstances surrounding the crash of a Douglas DC 8F Aircraft, Registration CF-TJN, at Ste Thérèse, Québec, on 29 November 1963, when on a flight from Montreal to Toronto and in particular upon: (a) the cause or causes that occasioned or may have occasioned the crash; and (b) whether the crash was occasioned by any breach or breaches of the Aeronautics Act (R.S.C., 1952, c.2) or the Air Regulations or any order or direction made pursuant thereto. The commissioner was George Swan Challies.
On 29 November 1963, a Douglas DC-8F aircraft, owned by Trans-Canada Air Lines, was on a flight from Montreal to Toronto with a scheduled departure from Dorval International Airport at 6:10 p.m., Eastern Standard Time. Due to the slowness of ground transportation from Montreal to the airport, the departure of Flight 831, as it was known, was delayed several minutes. At that time, the weather in Montreal was overcast, with light rain and fog, and with a visibility of four miles. The surface wind was north-east at twelve miles per hour.
The first stage of the flight from Dorval was via the St. Eustache omni range station. Flight 831 was cleared by air traffic control and started its take-off on runway number six at approximately 6:28 p.m. The aircraft crew had instructions to report in at 3,000 and 7,000 feet on the climb-out. Communications confirm that the aircraft reported in at 3,000 feet as instructed. Then, it acknowledged a clearance for a left turn to St. Eustache. This was the last radio contact with the flight. The turn was monitored on air traffic control radar to a point approximately eight nautical miles from the airport, but shortly thereafter, it disapeared from view. At that time a rain clutter was observed on the radar screen.
Flight 831 crashed at approximately 6:33 p.m. with the loss of all 111 passengers and a crew of seven on board.
The scene of the crash was about four miles north of Ste Thérèse de Blainville, to the west of Highway 11, and about 16.9 miles from Dorval Airport, as the crow flies.
Due to the heavy loss of life, and the complete destruction of the aircraft, the Department of Transport conducted a large scale investigation. It employed six working groups under the direction of the Chief, Accident Investigation Division. Each group was assisted by technical experts from various fields of aeronautics. The investigation included the recovery of human remains, aircraft salvage, the interrogation of witnesses, a study of the engines of the aircraft and its structures as well as human factors.
On 25 September 1964, after the Department of Transport completed its investigation, the House of Commons was informed that the Minister of Transport, J.W. Pickersgill, had decided to hold a public inquiry into the accident as well. On 8 October, the Government of Canada formally established the commission of inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the airplane crash. (See House of Commons, Debates, 25 September 1964, p. 8426 and National Archives of Canada, Records of Royal Commissions, RG 33/84, Vol. 7, Department of Transport, Civil Aviation Division, Summary Accident Report, 1963, and the Challies Report, 1965).
Hearings of the commission were held in Montreal from 9 November to 8 December 1964 and in Ottawa on 9 June 1965. The commission filed 78 exhibits. RG33-84 General Inventory
