The REAL story / Stan Rogers
Dave Kopacz
posted here over the last few weeks. I don't think the posters are
intentionally trying to deceive the readers, it's just that many unfounded
rumors have been circulating since Stan's death. I started hearing the
rumors soon after the event and I'm certain that some of them were spread
on the radio by well-intentioned folk music disk jockey's.
To help set the record straight, I'll summarize here what Chris Gudgeon
wrote in his biography "An Unfinished Conversation - The Life and Music of
Stan Rogers." While it's true that there is no guarantee that this is 100
percent accurate, at least the story was investigated. Mr. Gudgeon spoke
to some of the passengers and crew of the flight as part of the research
for his book. Items in quotes are directly from the book.
Stan Rogers was flying by himself on Air Canada Flight 797 from Dallas,
Texas to Toronto, Ontario on Thursday, June 2, 1983. He was returning to
his home in Dundas, Ontario after a month long tour which concluded at the
songwriters' festival in Kerrville, Texas. The bands last show had been on
Sunday, May 29th and Garnet returned home on Tuesday; Jim Morrison on
Wednesday. Stan hung around for a few more days. He felt he had an
obligation to the festival organizers to stay to the bitter end. There
were 41 passengers on the flight (about half capacity) and five crew
members.
About midway through the five-hour flight, a passenger reported smoke
coming from one of the restrooms. Senior Flight Attendant Sergio Bennetti
thought that someone might have thrown a cigarette into the trash bin, and
knew that he could easily contain that kind of fire because the bins are
mounted in fire-resistant casing.
"But when Bennetti opened the washroom door, he didn't see any
flames. Instead, black smoke curled out of the seams of the back
wall panel above the sink. He flooded the bathroom with foam
from the fire extinguisher, closed the door and returned to the
cockpit."
"An electrical fire had been burning for fifteen minutes before
the first signs of smoke were detected. The flames had already
melted the wires on the flush pump, causing the breakers to trip,
and by the time the first smoke was detected the fire had spread
through the ceiling."
So the fire was electrical in nature and had nothing to do with cigarettes
in the waste bin. I am certain that by 1983 it was already illegal to
smoke in airplane restrooms (not that that stops everybody from doing it).
Captain Donald Cameron radioed that he had a fire and started the emergency
descent to Cincinnati airport. Meanwhile, the flight attendants moved the
passengers toward the front of the plane, away from the smoke. The descent
took eight minutes, but there was no panic even though chunks of plastic
were falling from the melting ceiling onto the passengers and the cabin was
full of black smoke.
"No one on board Flight 791 saw flames during the emergency
descent, but as the plane made its final approach, witnesses on
the ground saw flames spew from two holes on top of the fuselage.
Thirteen firefighters were at the ready. They flooded the top of
the plane with foam and sprayed the ground beneath it to protect
against a fuel leak. Two firefighters attempted to enter the
plane from the middle emergency exit. But, just as they were
about to go inside, all hell broke loose. Barely one minute
after the plane had landed, the cabin exploded into flames."
"The end came quickly; the worst was over in seconds. Twenty-
three people died in the flames. Eighteen passengers and the
entire five-member crew survived."
This next section is a quote from a later chapter in Chris Gudgeon's
biography of Stan:
"As often happens when a young artist suddenly dies, Stan was
quickly elevated to the status of myth. The rumours started soon
after the plane touched down. A woman recalled being pushed out
the plane's emergency exit by a giant, bald-headed man - it could
have only been Stan Rogers. The story was embellished with each
retelling: two women were pushed out the exit, then three. A
near-unconscious woman was carried by a giant man to the
emergency exit. As she reached the bottom of the evacuation
slide, she looked up to see her rescuer turn back into the fire.
Soon, Stan's friends and fans were spreading the story - so wide
spread that it must be true - of how he valiantly carried two
women, one under each massive arm, out onto the wing of the plane
before diving back into the inferno, in search of more survivors.
The rumours continued. At the funeral, it is said, a statue
of the Virgin Mary began to vibrate. A lone eagle soared above
the gravesite and landed on the casket, just as it was about to
be lowered. Since in truth there was no burial at all, it's
clear that some of these rumours are the product of over-active
imaginations. But one story is definitely true: Stan's twelve-
string guitar, which had been previously crushed, broken, twisted
and damaged on many routine flights, survived the fire with only
minor damage.
From the ashes of Flight 797, a new figure emerged: Saint
Stan. He was an extension of Rogers's Maritime Stan persona,
only rougher and saltier still, with a heart of gold, a golden
voice and not a spot on him. Garnet calls it the "Elvisization"
of his brother. In death, we discovered Stan Rogers, bigger than
ever."
Whether Stan Rogers was responsible for saving lives on Flight 797 will
probably forever remain a mystery, but he will always be a hero in my mind
for writing some of the greatest songs of all time.
I hope this helps to set the record straight.
David