DRYDEN – During a recent council meeting, administration updated council on the Air Ontario Flight 1363 Memorial Monument Project.
Recently, Garth Twitchell, a major proponent for the City of Dryden to upgrade its current memorial, has granted the Dryden and District Museum a $10,000 donation to aid the project in its success.
“I am honoured to make this donation to a very worthwhile project in the hopes it inspires others to do the same. The project represents an opportunity for residents to come together in building a legacy to provide a respectful memorial for the Air Ontario Flight 1363 crash victims and their families,” Twitchell said.
Upon hearing about Twitchell’s donation, former mayor Greg Wilson, who is also a supporter of the project, matched Twitchell's donation.
Both Twitchell and Wilson's contributions come with a stipulation that the city and the Museum Advisory Board utilize the funds for the Air Ontario Flight 1363 Memorial Monument Project.
On March 10, 1989, shortly after takeoff from the Dryden Regional Airport, Air Ontario Flight 1363 crashed after only 49 seconds because it was not able to attain sufficient altitude to clear the trees beyond the end of the runway, due to ice and snow on the wings.
Of the 65 passengers, 21 lost their lives, along with three of the four crew members on board, including both pilots -- Captain George John Morwood and Keith Mills.
“The City of Dryden greatly appreciates the generosity of Mr. Twitchell and our former mayor Greg Wilson and his wife Debbie. This was a significant incident in aviation history and these funds will be used to ensure the whole story is told to future generations,” said Mayor Jack Harrison.
To this date, the Air Ontario Flight 1363 Memorial Monument Project has taken shape in different forms. Museum staff have undertaken an educational exhibit and an oral history project to capture the personal accounts of those impacted by the crash.
Museum and Heritage Coordinator Michelle Walter explained to council that “we started to reach out to the first few interviewees in December of 2023.
"The first interview was recorded and as of now, there are two interviews scheduled for this month. We are working on reaching out to other potential interviewees to gauge interest.”
Walter also stated that the oral history project does not have a firm end date as some community members are “not yet ready to share their stories and may come forward in the future.”
“And that's completely OK. We truly recognize that this was a difficult moment for so many people,” said Walter.
In addition to the oral history project, Walter acknowledges that in March the museum will open a miniature exhibit which will attempt to answer questions, including what happened to Air Ontario flight 1363.
“The research being conducted that will also support a miniature exhibit opening on March 1st, 2024 began with verifying what we currently have in the collection and what is available online," Walters said.
"Since establishing what is currently available, we have also begun acquiring some new resources that will be added to the Dryden District Museum collection, such as newspaper articles and the full Commission of Inquiry into the crash.
"Most recently, we have also been offered the transfer of 21 boxes of archival records from another museum relating to the case and the commission of inquiry.”
Walters said the Air Ontario Flight 1363 Memorial Monument Working Group will be looking at potential grants and funding to help with the cost of upgrading the current memorial site.
