I opted to detour from a recent return trip from St. John’s when I got to Clarenville and decided to return to Burgoyne’s Cove for a third time. This time though, I would make the hike to the plane crash site. The U.S.A.F. RB-36 Peacekeeper went down in March 1953 and all on board lost their lives that day. A monument has been erected and people can pay their respect.
It’s about a 45 minutes drive from Clarenville to Burgoyne’s Cove. I’m the community there are signs directing you to the site, which is about 4 KM over a gravel road near the former NL Slate Company site. A sign stated that the crash site is about a 30 minute walk. It’s a steep incline but a nice and steady walk through the forest to the top exposure of the hills to a monument, wreckage and panoramic views all around.
A peacekeeping mission ended in a hillside crash with all 23 on board killed on impact. That same night, a search and rescue plane was sent out to assist in search efforts, but crashed two hundred miles (320 km) west in St. George’s Bay according to reports.
It’s a 2.5 KM hike return. There were 5 other vehicles hiking when we did the trip up the hill.
Live Rural NL –
Christopher Mitchelmore
