Arrow Air Flight 1285

• Main Author: MSG Ross H. Eastman II
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Iran-Contra affair; 101st Airborne Division; United States. Army. Airborne Division; 101st; 1985-1990; Canada; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15040coll2/id/7764

Arrow Air Flight 1285 was a United States (U.S.) military charter flight returning 248 Soldiers of 101st Air Assault Division to Fort Campbell, Kentucky from Cairo, Egypt on 12 December 1985. The flight crashed on takeoff following a short layover in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada, killing all 248 passengers and eight crewmembers. The crash was the subject of massive criticism because of the unusual divergence between witness accounts, physical evidence, and the official report from the Canadian Aviation Safety Board (CASB). Although the CASB accident report listed the probable cause as icing of the wing leading edges, evidence points towards a terror attack linked to the Iran-Contra affair.