Yarmouth  county Airman Survives Crash
October 22/80
Vanguard


William S. Crosby,48 of Lake Annis, Yarmouth County was one of two crew members who survived last weeks crash of Canadian Forces Hercules aircraft in Northern Quebec that killed eight crew members.

Crosby's brother, Arthur, a senior pilot with Air Canada and a  colonel in the air force reserves phoned the injured airman's father ,Merle W. Crosby last Saturday night to say that his son had been transferred from CFB Trenton to The National Defense Medical Center in Ottawa.  Crosby has been taken of the critical list but has lower back injuries, cuts and bruises and burns around the head and hands.

Crosby said that he was told that his son survived because the copilot had kicked out the front window of the air craft and urged Crosby, who was only semi conscious,  to  crawl out the window. Both men dropped nine feet to the ground and crawled away from the burning aircraft. However, the rear section of the air craft was in flames preventing any chance of rescuing the other eight men.

Crosby said that his son was fortunate because a helicopter was already in the area on another search mission with a trained medical team on  board who quickly flew the injured airman to Trenton for emergency medical treatment.

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