AP: Online Journal in Public Archaeology Special Volume 3 - 2018 p. 79-98 An Empty Graveyard: The Victims of the 1946 AOA DC-4 Crash, Their Final Resting Place, and Dark Tourism Lisa M. DALY Independent Researcher Received: 19/09/2017 — Accepted: 31/07/2018 Abstract In 2013, archaeologists succeeded in locating a plane crash that had been presumed buried based on local stories. The aircraft had crashed into a steep hill, subsequently known as Crash Hill. On the summit is a deteriorated memorial which resembles a cemetery, marking the thirty-nine people who died in the 1946 tragedy. This memorial has been a spot of pilgrimage for family and an attraction for adventure seekers. This draw to dark tourism sites is not uncommon but since archaeologists shared their finds with the public through social and local media, many of those visitors are drawn to the crash site instead of the memorial. This is a problem as there are possibly mass graves at the crash site, and visitation can potentially disturb those remains. This article argues for caution when discussing finds publically and for the repair and restoration of the memorial at the top of the hill to fill the want to visit a site of tragedy without disturbing the actual crash site. Keywords aviation archaeology, dark tourism, aviation history, Newfoundland and Labrador 80 - Lisa M. DALY - An Empty Graveyard Introduction On top of Crash Hill, in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, is a monument to the thirty-nine victims of the crash of American Overseas Airlines Douglas DC-4 NC-900904, and a small, fenced area containing thirty-nine crosses, now broken, weather-worn and fallen. For years, this monument – a cenotaph with the appearance of a burial ground – had been a trail-end for hikers, snowmobilers, and all-terrain vehicle users, as the graveyard associated with the 1946 airplane crash. In 2013, an archaeological team from Memorial University of Newfoundland, with a local guide, endeavoured to discover the actual site of the crash on the hill somewhere below the monument, to assess the claims that the site had been buried by blasting the top of the hill. Archaeologists also wanted to attempt to locate the mass grave or graves indicated by conflicting stories circulating in the local community about the recovery efforts. The site was located, but no graves were positively identified. Since then, the monument has shifted from being the end of the trail, to an indicator as to the location of the physical wreckage of the aircraft, and many who were once content to visit the summit of the hill have been attempting to access the crash itself. This new element of dark tourism is putting visitors, the integrity of the site, and the human remains buried somewhere at the crash site, at risk. This article reviews the history of the crash and its subsequent memorialization, before discussing the challenges of dark tourism and potential future treatment of the landscape as a site of memory. History of the Crash AOA NC-900904, hereafter AOA 904, was scheduled to fly from LaGuardia Field, New York, to Shannon, Ireland, with a refuelling stop in Gander, Newfoundland. The aircraft departed New York at 12.14 (Newfoundland Time, UTC 03.30) on 2 October 1946 and at 16.13, Captain William R. Westerfield was informed by the dispatcher at Gander, that the weather in Gander was unsuitable for landing and not expected to improve (Landis et al. 1947; Wilkins 1946). The aircraft was to proceed to Stephenville, where it landed at 16.30 (Landis et al. 1947). There had been an alternated crew waiting in Gander, but as no crew was in Stephenville, the crew Lisa M. DALY - An Empty Graveyard - 81 were required to have a twelve-hour stop over to rest (Wilkins 1946). Departure was scheduled for 04.45 on 3 October (Landis et al. 1947). Shortly before scheduled departure, the flight crew were briefed by the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) and informed about the expected weather for the duration of the flight (Landis et al. 1947). At 04.45, Captain Westerfield requested takeoff clearance, but was informed by the control tower operator that due to the fact that the winds had increased to 9 mph and were blowing 90 degrees to the runway there would be a change in runways (Landis et al. 1947; Wilkins 1946). Airfield procedure dictated that DC-4s were to take off over the water (Runway 30) if winds were less than 10 mph. Perhaps with the fear that winds might increase, the control tower operator advised that the flight be changed to Runway 7 (Wilkins 1946). The runway was cleared and AOA 904 took-off at 05.00 with a magnetic bearing of 70 degrees. Fifteen minutes later, the wind decreased to 4 mph (Landis et al. 1947). Otherwise, the ceiling was 5,000 feet and visibility was at 10 miles. This meant that the weather was clear for flying but the moon and stars were not visible (Landis et al. 1947; Wilkins 1946; Unknown Author 1946a). No one was watching the aircraft in the minutes after takeoff (McGrath 1946). One minute after takeoff, the control tower operator requested a ceiling check, and AOA 904 advised him to ‘wait for ceiling check’ (Landis et al. 1947; Wilkins 1946). No radio contact occurred after this. Two and a half minutes after takeoff, witnesses reported a glow of fire directly in line with the runway in the nearby hills (Landis et al. 1947). No other aircraft was flying in the area at the time, so it was assumed that AOA 904 had crashed (Wilkins 1946). Attempts were made to contact the aircraft, but to no avail. NC 90903 departed 22 minutes later, and was instructed to leave from runway 30 (Wilkins 1946). Search operations were initiated immediately by the USAAF, aircraft flying over the site described it as a ‘terrific fire’ with little hope of survivors (Figure 1). The aircraft had hit the hill seven miles from the runway, in an area where pilots familiar with the runway would make a right turn shortly after takeoff to avoid the hills. The hill is 1200 feet high and the aircraft struck forty feet from the summit (Wilkins 1946). It is 82 - Lisa M. DALY - An Empty Graveyard Figure 1: Aerial photo of the wreckage taken one hour after the crash by navigator Robert Alber of Air France (from the collection of Lisa M. Daly). Figure 2: Aerial view of the memorial at the top of Crash Hill taken in 1950 (from the collection of the Our Lady Of Mercy Church Museum, Port au Port Peninsula). Lisa M. DALY - An Empty Graveyard - 83 believed the pilot could not see the hills in the dark, and started the turn too soon or was unaware of the elevations in the area and struck the hill (Landis et al. 1947; Wilkins 1946). Helicopters used in the rescue of survivors from the Sabena OOCBG which crashed near Gander on 18 September 1946, only two weeks earlier, were requested, but deemed unnecessary and the request cancelled (Canadian Press 1946). Search parties were assembled, departed at dawn, travelled by rail to Harry’s River, across a marsh, then through four miles of forest. They arrived at the site around midday and the Newfoundland Rangers arrived shortly after at 14.00 (Canadian Press 1946; Horwood 1986: 118). They confirmed the deaths of all eight crew, twenty-five adult passengers, and the six children on board the aircraft. The search party also indicated that the remains were burned beyond recognition, and later searchers could only confirm the identities of a few people. Due to these factors, it was decided that the remains would not be removed from the site, but rather would be buried near the aircraft. One of the Newfoundlanders working at Harmon Airfield and a member of the initial search party, Ronald Reardon (2012), indicated that the remains were extensively damaged, with fragments scattered around the wreckage and in the trees. Due to the fire, transporting the remains was challenging, and he indicated that not all remains were likely collected and brought to the burial area. The remains were gathered, and according to Newfoundland Ranger T. Fitzpatrick, were ‘piled up like cordwood, all burned and blackened’ (Horwood 1986: 118), while they waited for a group of Americans to arrive with dynamite to blast a hole deep enough for the remains. The steep, rocky hillside has very shallow soil, so graves had to be blasted rather than dug by the Rangers. Although, the reports are a little conflicting from the Newfoundland Rangers on site, as Fitzpatrick claims there were multiple holes blasted and multiple graves, whereas labourer Reardon claimed a single grave was dug with a pick and shovel, and the official Ranger report says ‘during the day, they [twenty-five labourers] buried the remains of the victims and erected crosses and Stars of David’ (Figure 2; Fagan and Fitzpatrick 1946: 2; Horwood 1986: 119; Reardon 2012). Wilkins’ (1946) report does confirm the graves were blasted, but no further details are given. This is not a clear description of the burial. The remains were buried somewhere near the wreckage 84 - Lisa M. DALY - An Empty Graveyard in an unmarked area. To bury the wreckage and remains, steps were taken to obtain permission to dynamite the hill above the crash with the goal of burying the wreckage and remains under rubble (McGrath 1946). Within hours of the crash happening and the determination that there were no survivors, steps were taken to create a memorial.