ODDS’N’SODS — Pilot navigates safe flight home after making

Leigh Britnell was a pilot for Western Canada Airways at Sioux Lookout, Ont. He flew a new Fairchild Aircraft G-CAIE. One late October day in 1927, he loaded it with supplies for the Jackson Manion gold mine on the Woman River, 100 miles north.

He landed on the river and taxied to shore but then ran into thin sheets of ice about one-inch thick which cut a hole in his left float and knocked the float cover off. This caused the float to fill with water. The left wing tip went under, breaking the strut and damaging the aileron.

Fortunately, he got out and made his way to shore safely. He walked up to the mine for help, but, as it was becoming dark, he decided to stay there all night.

Next morning, he took a dozen planks down to the ice. Standing on a plank, he cut a channel through the thin ice out to the plane, tied a rope on to the good float and slowly pulled the plane to shore and out of the water. He unloaded the supplies and repaired the aileron and broken strut by lashing two green birch saplings onto the break. He then sewed and doped the left wing-tip fabric where it had torn and patched the tear in the damaged float. Britnell then lit a fire to heat the engine oil along with a dozen rocks which were used to heat the cylinders and the engine. The hot oil enabled the engine to start easily.

He did not know how much ice had formed inside the left wing tip when it was submerged under the water, but he decided to see if the plane would fly. It did, but he had to wedge himself between the control column and the side of the cabin to hold the column hard to the left to keep the plane flying in a level manner.

He was forced to land several times during that hundred-mile flight back to base in order to relax and stretch his arms and legs. He completed the flight and landed safely at base. The plane was repaired and flew for many years thereafter.

Britnell went on to a brilliant career in aviation, based in Edmonton, Alta. He died in 1971 leaving a wife, son and daughter. He was one of Canada’s most outstanding aviation executives.

— Donald Parrott is a retired operating engineer who lives in Thunder Bay, Ont.