The Convent Crash, also known as the Orléans air disaster and Villa St. Louis disaster, occurred on May 15, 1956, after a

CF-100 The Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck (affectionately known as the "Clunk") is a Canadian twinjet interceptor/ fighter designed and produced by aircraft manufacturer Avro Canada. It has the distinction of being the only Canadian-designed fighter to e ...

fighter jet crashed into Villa St. Louis, a convent in the community of

Orleans, Ontario Orleans (; French: ; officially and in French OrléansThe suburb is called ''Orléans'' (with an accent) in French, but is commonly called ''Orleans'' (no accent) in English. The official name in English was changed from ''Orleans'' to ''Orléa ...

, Canada. The two pilots were killed in the crash, along with 13 people in the building: 11 members of the

Grey Nuns The Sisters of Charity of Montreal, formerly called The Sisters of Charity of the Hôpital Général of Montreal and more commonly known as the Grey Nuns of Montreal, is a Canadian religious institute of Roman Catholic religious sisters, founde ...

, a civilian servant, and the chaplain, a retired naval padre.

Events

At 10:37 p.m. May 15, 1956, two

s were launched from their base at

RCAF Station Uplands The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environme ...

(located south of Ottawa) to identify an unknown aircraft heading towards

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. The plane was identified as a RCAF North Star flying from

Resolute Bay Resolute Bay is an Arctic waterway in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in Parry Channel on the southern side of Cornwallis Island. The hamlet of Resolute is located on the northern shore of the bay with Resolute Bay Airpo ...

Dorval Airport Dorval () is an on-island suburban city on the island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. In 2016, the Canadian Census indicated that the population increased by 4.2% to 18,980. Although the city has the largest surface area in Montré ...

. The two planes climbed to to practice interception techniques and burn off excess fuel before returning to base. One of the aircraft returned to base, but the other remained airborne longer to burn off more excess fuel. The cause has never been officially determined, but it is thought that an oxygen failure caused the crew to pass out. The plane descended at a speed of nearly and crashed into the Villa St. Louis.

Impact

At the time the plane crashed many of the occupants of the building were asleep. The three-storey, seventy-room building was run by the

. The two crewmen of the plane were killed instantly upon impact with the building. Then the fuel of the plane ignited and a

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

ensued. Some of the occupants of the building jumped from windows. Others remained trapped in the building frantically trying to open windows. Victims unable to escape their rooms died of smoke inhalation. The fire was extinguished in the early hours of the next day. Convent Crash memorial

Legacy

A memorial cross adorned with a fighter aircraft, surrounded by 15 stones taken from the rubble of Villa St-Louis is dedicated to the memory of the fifteen victims of the Orléans Aviation Disaster. The memorial was erected behind Villa St-Louis on May 13, 2009, by a group of Orléans veterans and members of the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa. A ceremony marked the 50th anniversary of Villa St-Louis disaster at the Residence Saint-Louis long term care facility which was built on the same site as the old Villa St-Louis. The ceremony was organized by three former members of the RCAF in co-operation with the Sisters of Charity who run the Residence Saint-Louis and the Orléans Legion.

References

{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 1956 Aviation accidents and incidents in 1956 Aviation accidents and incidents in Canada Accidents and incidents involving military aircraft 1956 in Ontario 20th century in Ottawa 1956 disasters in Canada