Silent Whitness - Arrow Air Memorial - Gander Lake NL, Canada (Plus 1 x PiP)

The "Silent Witness" by Kentucky artist Steve Shields. Arrow Air Flight 1285 memorial at Gander Lake

Arrow Air Flight 1285 was a McDonnell Douglas DC-8 that operated as an international charter flight carrying U.S. Army soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division from Cairo, Egypt, to their home base in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, via Cologne, West Germany, and Gander, NL, Canada.

On the morning of Thursday, 12 December 1985, shortly after takeoff from Gander en route to Fort Campbell, the aircraft stalled, crashed, and burned about half a mile from the runway, killing all 248 passengers and 8 crew members on board.

The accident was investigated by the Canadian Aviation Safety Board (CASB), which determined the probable cause of the crash was the aircraft's unexpectedly high drag and reduced lift condition, most likely due to ice contamination on the wings' leading edges and upper surfaces, as well as underestimated onboard weight. A minority report stated that the accident could have been caused by an onboard explosion of unknown origin prior to impact.