Annex I to the Treaty of Peace between Egypt and Israel of 1979 provided for U.N. forces to occupy a portion of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, as observers, between Egypt and Israel. (7:345) The 101st Airborne division from Fort Campbell, Kentucky was one of four divisions that constituted the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO). The sole purpose of the MFO was to "operate checkpoints, reconnaissance patrols and observation posts along the international boundary." (7:345)

Although the MFO was designated solely as a peacekeeping force, many times they were targets of hostile acts by the Islamic Jihad, or Islamic "Holy War," a religious fundamentalist group responsible for various terrorist acts against the United States, such as the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, and the hijacking of TWA flight 847 in June of 1985. In February of 1984, the MFO's director, Leamon "Ray" Hunt was gunned down in his car in the streets of Rome, Italy. Officials investigating Hunt's murder pointed the finger of guilt at Lebanese terrorists. (2:12-20)

As a result of the Marine barracks bombing, the U.S. began withdrawing its troops from Lebanon, leaving the largest collection of United States troops in the Middle East, concentrated in the Sinai. (2:20) The rotation of these troops every six months involved a massive, cooperative effort between the Egyptians and the U.S. The movement of these troops around the region would require that the utmost of security precautions be taken, or would it?

From the moment the troops were destined to leave for home from the Sinai, an unusual sequence of events occurred that have been dismissed as irrelevant. Before this particular movement of troops, all troops serving in the Sinai had departed from the Ras Nasrani airport in the southern part of the Sinai, relatively close to the South Camp set up for the MFO. Yet on this flight, Army officials were notified that this airport would not be available for use by large planes due to construction on the main runway. This meant that the soldiers would be flown by Egypt Air Boeing 737s to the Cairo International Airport, where they would then depart on the larger Arrow Air DC-8. (2:133) Although this may have seemed but an inconvenience to the troops and to the Army, it required that all baggage be transported by way of truck to the airport in Cairo. Customs officials from Egypt and the U.S. participated in searching all unit and stores equipment, which included only baggage stored in a cargo compartment and not carry-on gear. The trucks were loaded and an Egyptian Customs Seal was placed on the sealed trailers. The trucks arrived in Cairo on December 10, a whole day before the troops even began to leave the South Camp in the Sinai. (5:1) 

Upon arrival at the airport in Cairo, the trucks were parked in the streets outside the airport before being moved to a guarded area of the airport. Two U.S. soldiers guarded the baggage round the clock until around 4:00 p.m. On December 11, the truck drivers took over the guard themselves and allowed the guards to prepare for departure. At approximately 8 p.m., the seal on the baggage trucks was broken by an Army official, and the loading began 30 minutes later by an Egyptian-contracted loading firm. (7:404-405)

The unusual events begin to unfold further here, when the pilot of the plane noticed that the Egyptian guard stationed on the ground outside the aircraft would "disappear from his post several times, sometimes for as long as an hour." Captain Arthur Schoppaul also noted that the baggage workers got into a fist fight outside the aircraft, which struck him strangely since Arabs rarely touch one another due to religious beliefs. (7:418) There was a time when there was no light around the aircraft due to a power cord that had been pulled out on the tarmac. (2:145) During the loading, there were no U.S. personnel in the cargo holds supervising the contracted Egyptian workers, none of whom had been screened by the U.S. officials. (7:182)

When the cargo bays of the DC-8 were full, an interesting situation arose; there were still 41 of the soldiers' duffel bags that could not be loaded. Many of the bags were bumped off the plane due to several "large, wooden crates" that were loaded onto the plane first. (7:182) An Arrow Air manager recalled that Lieut. Colonel Marvin Jeffcoat, the battalion commander, insisted that the boxes be loaded first, and if necessary, that duffel bags be removed to accommodate the boxes, as they contained "very important, military material." (2:146) This struck many of the crew members oddly since it is "unusual to separate a soldier from his equipment." One of the 10 to 20 of these crates had not been transported on the baggage truck with the other baggage and boxes, but had been flown in the belly of one of the 737s to Cairo. (2:147) Where was this box kept while the other baggage in the trucks was being guarded? Despite attempts to identify the contents of these boxes through Army records, no official records of the boxes, or their contents, have been found.

The Arrow Air DC-8 departed from the terminal at 6:40 a.m. Gander local time, crashing six minutes later less than a half-mile from the end of runway 22. (1:5) Army Major Gen. John Crosby arrived in Gander at 3:00 p.m. local time, along with Army personnel to assist the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in their investigative efforts. However, the Army's only role was to assist, and not investigate, at the scene of the accident; this would be done solely by the RCMP. Representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the FBI were also dispatched to the site within hours of the crash.

The disturbing part about the investigation lies in the cooperative efforts between the Canadian and U.S. governments. Many of the officials sent to the crash site were told that they had no jurisdiction there, as the crash did not take place on U.S. territory. In most accidents that involve U.S. citizens, officials probe further to uncover details. In this case, however, many of the officials accepted whatever theories were laid before them by the Canadian officials. The FBI officials were put up in a hotel room for several days, at which time they were informed about the RCMP's findings and told to go home. Information in hand, they departed, leaving a possible crime scene with only the information they were provided -- unprecedented for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (6:34)

Two separate eyewitnesses remember General Crosby ordering the "immediate bulldozing of the crash site." Although General Crosby denies mentioning the bulldozing operation in December, records show that less than 10 days following the accident, Crosby was in touch with officials in Gander and Ottawa regarding the site cleanup, which was to be performed with "a representative of the Army present at all times." (2:83-85) The immediate bulldozing of a crash site removes all traces of wrongdoing, and seems especially intriguing in light of the Pan Am 103 investigation which took place after that flight was brought down by an explosion over Lockerbie, Scotland. Investigators in the Pan Am case reconstructed the aircraft piece by piece until the source of the explosion was found: a detonator small enough to fit in the lock of a suitcase was found among the 747's wreckage. (2:431) No meticulous investigation such as this was made in the Gander accident. The bodies of the deceased were the only hard evidence examined for an in-flight explosion, and even they were hurriedly examined.

The crash of the Gander flight posed a particular problem for recovery and examination of the bodies of the deceased. Colonel Robert McMeekin, director of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) received notification of the accident at 6:30 a.m. on the morning of December 12. He arrived in Gander at 3:30 p.m. that day. The role of the AFIP was solely identification of U.S. personnel. Under a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Canadian and U.S. officials, the RCMP agreed to release the bodies of the victims to the United States for identification and pathological examination. Any toxicology samples would be taken and shipped to Canada for testing; no testing was to be done in the U.S. Thus, the bodies were moved to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for examination. (7:355) The examination and x-rays revealed that none of the bodies showed any signs of a pre-impact explosion. All deaths were listed as "instantaneous" and due to "plane crash." According to many pathologists, an accident cannot be listed as a cause of death, but only as a contributor to death. Actual death can only be by decapitation, etc. Listing the deaths as "instantaneous" would appease many of the families -- that is, until the Elcombe report was released.

Dr. David Elcombe, director of the Canadian Aviation Safety Board (CASB), released the Canadians' toxicological findings on March 5, 1986, although they were not presented at any public hearings. These results presented problems for the "instantaneous" death theory posed by Dr. McMeekin. The consensus between the two governments was that there was no pre-impact explosion. Therefore the story went something like this: everyone was alive, then several seconds later, all aboard perished immediately when the plane contacted the ground as a result of wing icing, and erupted in a ball of fire. This is where Dr. Elcombe's findings pose a problem. Many of the bodies contained high levels of carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide, both products of combustion. (1:37-38) An accepted guideline used by pathologists is that these products cannot enter the tissue of the body by any means other than respiration. So according to Dr. Elcombe, 256 people who died "instantaneously" have high levels of combustion products which they would have had to have inhaled. To make this important piece of evidence fit into the accepted "no explosion" theory, the survival time after the crash was increased from zero seconds to almost five minutes. The families were being asked to deal with the nightmarish possibility that their loved ones sat living, within a fiery inferno of jet fuel for almost five minutes. Interestingly, many of the bodies that had high levels of combustion products in their lungs were also decapitated, yet according to the official report, they somehow kept breathing five minutes after being dismembered. This could be exactly why Dr. Elcombe sent a memo to Dr. McMeekin dated June 20, 1986 stating: "Some of the carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide values are striking ... and I look forward to meeting with you ... to consider their significance." (2:167)

Many people have questioned the true mission of the 3rd battalion of the 101st Airborne deployed to the Sinai. There are some theories surrounding the contents of the mysterious "wooden boxes" loaded into the DC-8 in Cairo, and their relation to the Iran-Contra affair involving Oliver North. Others will point out that almost 20 members of the 101st were members of an elite Special Forces group known as Task Force 160. The significance of this fact is great, considering that the role of the Multinational Force and Observers is peacekeeping. In contrast, Task Force 160's main objectives are covert missions and rescues, as demonstrated by their suggested involvement in the Italian cruise liner, Achille Lauro, hostage situation. The forces were poised and ready to pounce, although the hijackers surrendered first. (6:34)

The only possible logic surrounding the entrance of such highly specialized personnel in a peacekeeping force, is that the MFO itself was used as a base for other, more covert, activity in the region. One must look at the events that were taking place at the time in the Middle East, although the public was unaware at the time. Colonel Oliver North had been negotiating with Iran for some time for the release of American hostages being held in that country. As an exchange for the release of the hostages, North was selling the Iranians TOW anti-tank missiles for use in its ongoing war with Iraq. In late November, 1985, the Iranians paid over $24 million for the purchase of 18 HAWK anti-aircraft missiles. However, upon delivery and testing of one of the HAWKs, the Iranians realized that they had received an older, less technologically advanced version of the HAWK which had a much lesser range that the new ones. The Iranians, already carrying a great distrust of the U.S., felt double-crossed. Oliver North was told by one of his advisors that there was a "good chance of condemning some or all of the hostages to death in a renewed wave of Islamic Jihad." Oliver North responded saying that the deaths of the hostages would be our "minimum losses." (8:182-196)

Realizing his position, the possibility exists that Oliver North planned a covert hostage rescue attempt. North knew the position of the hostages to the exact room of the barracks they were being held in. (6:34) If this attempt failed and there were casualties in the Special Operations group, this might explain the contents of the "coffin sized" boxes being loaded into the plane in Cairo. Also, if a rescue mission had failed several days earlier, retaliation by an angered Iran could have been focused on U.S. military maneuvers taking place in the region, most notably the transport of military personnel back to the U.S. An aircraft explosion over the North American continent would prove effective in showing the U.S. that the arm of terrorism can reach to any area of the globe.

Although there have not been any governmental investigations which have sufficiently satisfied the family members and others who would like to know what actually happened in Gander, the government of the United States has conducted inquiries that examine the U.S. government's involvement in the investigation. In December of 1990, the House of Representatives conducted a two-day hearing on the accident. Many top governmental officials presented their testimony concerning their agencies' roles in the post-crash investigation. Gen. Crosby and Col. McMeekin were present, and answered most questioning with military precision. However, on several occasions when congressmen drilled for answers, Crosby would interrupt and speak on behalf of McMeekin, when McMeekin seemed to be verbally cornered. The subcommittee adjourned on December 5, concluding nothing of great proportions. The hearings had been the result of growing pressure from families and a select few congressmen, the final verdict stating that the "Subcommittee is dismayed and troubled by the failure of the U.S. Government to pursue an active role in the investigation of the Gander accident." (7:902)

On October 28, 1988, the Canadian Aviation Safety Board concluded its internal investigation into the accident, although it resulted in no single conclusion. A group of nine board members split 5 to 4 on the ruling of the cause of the accident. The majority concluded that the crash was due to ice accumulation on the wings, which may have caused the aircraft to stall. The minority concluded differently, stating that the crash could have been caused by an "on-board fire, possibly due to a detonation in the cargo compartment." (3:107) Later, in 1989, Canadian Judge WIlliam Estey, a former Justice of the Canadian Supreme Court, was asked to review the findings of both the majority and minority, in hope that he might order a reopening of the investigation. Judge Estey, however, determined that both sides had plausible support for their respective arguments, but added that "further investigation is not ... warranted." (7:763) 

Over ten years have passed since the crash of the homeward-bound DC-8 in 1985. Still, may questions remain unanswered. Although many details of the accident have remained a mystery, many more have been uncovered which may provide insight into the true cause of the disaster. However speculative, it is important that the postulation continue, and that all possible causes be explored. The icing proponents continue to produce credible statistics concerning the effects of ice on aircraft lift and drag. But as these facts are produced, they are challenged by stronger facts discounting them.

It is important that the public know about governmental wrongdoings. Although it may seem that there was no intentional or blatant cover-up, further investigation proves that the inadequate and incomplete investigation of this incident means substantially more than coincidence. A complete investigation is needed that will examine all aspects of the crash, including the pre-crash events, the post-crash investigation, toxicological findings, as well as the "arms for hostages" connections. Unlike the Kennedy assassination, another famous potential governmental conspiracy, the players in this game are still alive and within the population and should be probed for answers. Our servicemen and women are not expendable, for along with the 248 servicemen and women, 248 sons and daughters died as well.