One of the saddest fatalities in the history of Whitehorse occurred on Thursday last.
On the morning of that day two of the W. P. & Y. R. planes left the local airport northbound. The Ford plane, piloted by L. Vines, with two passengers and a load of freight, left for Mayo and reached destination on time. The Fairchild plane, piloted by Jesse W. Rice, with two passengers and a load of mail, left here shortly afterwards bound for Dawson.
Although weather conditions in these parts at this particular time of the
year are problematical for aviators they appeared to be satisfactory for flying and to warrant the planes taking to the air lanes. About 25 miles from town, however, there was a
blanket of fog over Lake LeBarge which is not at all unusual at this time of the year when the lake is still open.
It is understood that the Fairchild plane was flying rather high and, on
the assumption that it was clearer at a lower level, made a descent. What next happened will never be known and any assumption under such tragic circumstances would appear to be now out of place. The fact is that the plane and its passengers have not been seen or heard from since not withstanding that a diligent search has been continuously carried out but with scant results up to the present. So far it is reported that a sack of second-class mail has been recovered and the presumption is that the plane must have descended too far in the fog and struck the surface of the lake.
The fatality has east a pall of sadness over the community and sincerest
regrets have been expressed on all sides over its occurrence.
Mr. Rice was one of the Company's most trusted and experienced pilots
and had been in its employ for the past five years. He originates from Saskatchewan and when he first came north he was in the employ of Mr. Barr who at that time operated a plane service in Atlin. He left Mr. Barr's employ in order to enter the service of the W. P. & Y. R.
During their residence in this community both Mr. and Mrs. Rice have been held in the highest regard. At this time and in such trying circumstances sincerest sympathy is extended to Mrs. Rice by everyone in this locality as well as to the relatives of the two passengers who were aboard rhe plane at the time of the fatal accident.
These two passengers were Mike McCallion, a nephew of Mack McCallion who operates a wood camp about 14 miles out of Dawson. Mike had just made a trip to Ireland and was on his way in to operate the winter mail service between Dawson and Coffee Creek for which he the contract. The other passenger was D. A. Anderson an independent placer miner on one of the creeks near Dawson.
