‘I crawled through a sea of flames’: remembering the fatal Sabena plane crash of 1946

Forty-four people were on board the Douglas DC-4 plane that night, which was travelling from Brussels to New York. Only 18 people survived. The rescue operation lasted two days and involved the use of a helicopter to evacuate the seriously injured – one of the first times this had ever been done. The wreckage still lies at the crash site, alongside a small cemetery for the victims.

“I and others spent the night in great fear, because the weather was exceptionally bad,” said Jef Deschuyffeleer. He was one of the survivors of the crash and spoke on the radio the day after he was evacuated to Belgium.

“The descent was erratic, with sudden jolts. After a few minutes, everyone began to sense that something unusual had happened,” he said. “Then we heard a tremendous cracking sound; I think it was the aeroplane first making contact with the treetops. What followed was a whole series of explosions and noises.”

Deschuyffeleer describes how flames shot out of the plane from all sides after it came to a halt. “I crawled 15 to 20 metres away from the sea of flames and told people to crawl further away, because of the risk of explosions.”

This was one of the first transatlantic flights operated by Sabena, the predecessor of Brussels Airlines. Cynrik De Decker, author of the book Sabena: The Turbulent Story of an Aviation Pioneer, explains: “Before the Second World War, there were no transatlantic flights. But during the war, the Americans developed large bombers capable of covering great distances and carrying large payloads. After the war, transatlantic commercial air travel took off. Sabena was quick to jump on the bandwagon.”

Flights were carried out in several stages. From Brussels, they first flew to Shannon in Ireland to refuel. They then continued to Gander in Canada, where they refuelled again, before flying on to New York.

That night 80 years ago, it took some time before people realised the plane had crashed. And once it was known, it took until midday the following day before the wreckage was spotted in the vast Canadian forests.

Water was gradually supplied via parachutes, a doctor arrived and the survivors were evacuated a day later. In total, the rescue lasted two days.

It was one of the first ever rescue operations to involve a helicopter. Men were dropped off and cleared a space where they laid planks so the helicopter could land. This enabled them to evacuate the seriously wounded by helicopter. They were then transported by seaplane via the nearest lake in what De Decker calls “a truly massive operation”.

The wreckage still lies where it crashed all those years ago. “A small cemetery was laid out at the tail end of the aeroplane. The remains were never moved,” De Decker says.

It was Sabena director Gilbert Périer who decided to bury the victims there. No one had been injured during the rescue operation, and he wanted to keep it that way. Among the graves are those of his ex-wife Marie Noblet and his daughter, also called Marie.

“It was a huge event at the time,” De Decker says. “The air disaster dominated the front pages for days on end, not only in Belgium but also abroad.”