Skip to content

A son's search for history and truth

Landon Register never knew his father, Capt. Lonnie Register, and now he's trying to get in contact with anyone who might have their stories to tell of the only American pilot who was killed during a tragic accident in 1985.

There are two questions that have always been at the back of Landon Register's mind: 'what was my dad like, and what happened that day?'

At approximately 7:15 p.m. on March 29, 1985, two Lockheed C-130 Hercules four-engine turboprop cargo transport airplanes (dubbed Trucker Lead and Trucker Two) collided in mid-air and crashed during a ceremonial flypast marking the 61st anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force that was taking place at CFB Edmonton, then known as CFB Namao.

At the time, witnesses reported that the two planes were a few hundred metres above the ground. The investigation suggested their wingtips made contact, causing both aircraft to drop, with one crashing into a warehouse building where an old Second World War Lancaster plane was stored. The other hit the ground between two fuel storage tanks holding thousands of litres of aviation fuel combined. Those impacts caused massive explosions, with fireballs reaching hundreds of metres into the sky. All five crew members from each plane were killed immediately. It was the first and only mid-air double Hercules collision.

Then-base commander Peter DeTracey was quoted as calling the catastrophe as “a black Friday for CFB Edmonton.”

According to the Gazette archives, approximately 1,000 people attended a memorial service the following week for the nine Canadian Forces members (from 435 Squadron Edmonton and CFB 429 Squadron Winnipeg) as well as a United States exchange pilot.

That American pilot’s name was Capt. Lonnie Register, Jr. He was a Vietnam veteran who was in the last year of his service before moving to become a commercial pilot.

His son, Landon Register, was still a toddler at the time. He never knew his dad. As the years have gone by, he has always wondered about Lonnie: what he was like as a person, what stories he had, what he would have been like as a father. He also wants to know more about what happened that day.

He says it’s time for those questions to find answers if they still can. He’s making a public plea for information.

“There's certain things that make me wonder. He died when I was two, so I don't really have any memories. I thought this would be a good way to get different stages of his life into memory and then just to talk about it,” he began from his Texas home.

Register admits he also has a lot of lingering concerns about the crash. Though he hasn't yet reached out to anybody at the base, he is open to that conversation, difficult though it may be.

“I was reading that there was no black box in the airplane, which makes it weird. Even though it was a demo, the military had – they all had to have – black boxes in their planes. I'm curious why that wouldn’t be there. I really want to just figure out more what happened there, and then really the people that knew him that might be able to just tell me more about him during that stage.”

Anne Boisjoli lived with her family across the street from the Registers on Lancaster Crescent at the time. She was close with Rose – Landon’s mother and Lonnie’s wife – but didn’t have much chance to get to know the airman better.

“I guess they were only there about a year and a half. Really, I didn't know Lonnie well because he was flying a lot a good part of the time. I knew his wife and she and I used to trade babysitting. Actually, I used to babysit Landon,” she said, remembering him and his older brothers Lance and Lion also.

Of her brief interactions with Lonnie, she does have a clear and simple picture of him in her memories.

“He seemed very professional. A very nice person, very interested in his family. When he was there, he was ‘there’, but I just remember him being away a fair bit because my husband also travelled at the time so Rose and I helped each other out when the men were away.”

Her memories of the events of that fateful day are pretty clear, however. Rose had stopped by in the afternoon as she was going to a movie. She wanted Boisjoli to keep an eye on the new babysitter at her house just for good measure. There might even have been some last minute talk about the birthday party that was meant to be held the next day for Landon’s older brother, Lance.

That party had to be cancelled, and would not be held after the news spread. The American military quickly transferred the Register family back to Texas.

“It was so shocking. I was working nights that night actually. I heard about it when I got to work at about seven o’clock. I phoned my husband and I said, ‘I just heard there was a plane crash at Namao. I hope Lonnie’s okay.’ He didn't say anything. I knew that it was going to be a long night shift. He said he went across the street and the Air Force people were already there. Within a week, they were gone.”

Landon said he, his mother and his brother have all stayed close to each other in Dallas, though Lonnie’s grave is in El Paso, a drive that would take a weekend to visit.

Time does not heal all wounds nor answer all questions

Landon is now a year older than his father lived to be.

“It's weird to be honest. I never really thought about it until I turned 37, and then, I mean it makes me feel good because I've outlived him. It also makes me wonder what he would be like at this age in my life if he was still around given that I was his age. I'm older than him now. It makes me curious.”

There are many curiosities he wishes he could put to rest. He wants to know more about the accident. From what he remembers being told as a child, the Canadian Air Force said the pilots knew the manoeuvres and that they were experienced in them. There were even suggestions made in the media that the military’s accident report claimed Captain Register might not have been properly briefed about the ‘bomb burst manoeuvre’ during the flypast.

“When the truth was told that they didn't have any flying knowledge of the manoeuvres ... it was almost like a last-minute deal. I wonder how much was involved there training-wise and what happened,” he continued.

“I know that's a little deep into it, but these are questions that I've had forever and so I'm wondering if certain ones can be answered.”

This year marks the 35th anniversary of the disaster. Much time has passed, Register admits, and many of the personnel who might have been able to help have probably passed also.

He still feels like the full truth hasn’t been made public. He also feels like his family deserves answers. Their feelings of frustration and anger haven’t abated for his family, especially for his mother.

“It'd be so frustrating to come so close to being able to just relax after doing all of that serving and doing his tours. To get that close ...” he said, trailing off. “I could imagine how it makes her feel because I know it makes me angry. As a kid, I used to be very angry with the Canadian Air Force and whoever was involved.”

“I've grown up.”

He said that anyone can get in contact with him by calling him at 1-602-410-9508 or via email at [email protected].


Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

About the Author: Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Ecology and Environment Reporter at the Fitzhugh Newspaper since July 2022 under Local Journalism Initiative funding provided by News Media Canada.
Read more



Comments

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks