Hurricane solves decades old Canadian plane crash mystery

Monday, October 2, 2017, 8:09 PM - The relentless 2017 Atlantic hurricane season has unearthed some interesting creatures from the deep, but for one Canadian family it may also have provided some answers after nearly 60 years of questions.

The Canadian Virtual War Memorial lists Lieutenant William Troy as the victim of a plane crash, who perished when his F2H-3 Banshee went into the ocean off the shores of Mayport Beach, Fla., on February 25, 1958. Though the U.S. Navy was able to recover a small amount of debris from the wreck, few details ever emerged as to the cause of the crash, or the fate of its pilot.

At least, until September 22, when a park ranger at Florida's Hanna Park, east of Jacksonville, happened upon a remarkable find.

"I knew I had found something special when I found the lieutenant's stencil on the back of the float coat," ranger Zack Johnson told local tv station News4Jax. Johnson recovered the parachute harness - embroidered with LT (P) TROY - as well as some metal debris and parachute rigging along the high water line of the park's beach.

Johnson speculates that the debris from the wreckage was buried in the sand dunes by 1964's Hurricane Dora, a category 3 storm that made landfall near St. Augustine, Fla., and was likewise dislodged by beach erosion caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria this year.

Track of Hurricane Dora, 1964, showing maximum rainfall amounts. Image courtesy NHC.

News4Jax contacted Troy's brother; they say hopes he to recover some of the items after issues between the Canadian and U.S. governments can be resolved. Lt. Troy, who was 29 at the time of his death, was en route to participate in a U.S. military training exercise at the time of the accident. He was a native of Campbellton, New Brunswick.

CTV News spoke with Troy's younger sister, Sandra Berry, who told the news agency she was thankful Johnson "was good enough to do something about [the discovery]," adding that they'd still be in the dark if someone had not cared enough to act on the find.

Johnson speculates that more of the downed craft is not far off the coast of Hanna Park. Anyone who finds additional items washed ashore is asked to contact park rangers at Hanna Park, or the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

Sources: News4Jax | CTV News | Veteran's Affairs Canada | NHC |