Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Episode 3

Paul Archambault was a convicted criminal but he was also a personable young man, and his police escort had felt comfortable removing his handcuffs once the plane was airborne.

Read by Barbara Barnes.

The astonishing true life adventure story of a plane crash in the wilds of northern Canada and the four men who survived to tell the tale.

On a wintry October night in 1984, nine passengers boarded a Piper Navajo commuter plane bound for remote communities in the far north of Canada. Only four people - strangers from wildly different backgrounds - survived the night that followed: the pilot, a prominent politician, an accused criminal and the rookie policeman escorting him.

The title is taken from the American mythologist Joseph Campbell who explored mankind's quest for meaning and adventure: 'It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life'.

The author, Carol Shaben, is the daughter of Larry Shaben a politician in the Alberta Legislature who survived the crash. Using extensive interviews with all the remaining survivors and their families, as well as investigation reports and court records, she reconstructs the events leading up to the fatal crash and unravels the enduring impact it had on the four survivors and the bonds they formed that night on the mountain.

Episode Three:
Paul Archambault was a convicted criminal, but he was also a personable young man and his police escort had felt comfortable removing his handcuffs once the plane was airborne. Relatively unscathed, it was Paul who chose to go back to the wrecked plane to see who was alive. He found Erik, Scott the police officer and Larry Shaben - the author's father. Now all they had to do is stay alive until help arrived.

Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4.

15 minutes

Last on

Thu 25 Oct 2012 00:30

Broadcasts

  • Wed 24 Oct 2012 09:45
  • Thu 25 Oct 2012 00:30

Listen to more Audio Books

Listen to more Audio Books

Including My Sister The Serial Killer, Queenie, The Flatshare and more.

Opening Lines

Opening Lines

John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas.

Sample our books and authors Clip Collection

Interviews, previews and reviews

Subscribe to the Short stories podcast

Featuring the best stories from the UK's finest writers

How many of these 100 Novels have you read?

How many of these 100 Novels have you read?

After a passionate debate, our panel has come up with this surprising literary selection.

Finding Your Story

Finding Your Story

Ten remarkable novels about identity: Which one will help you discover yourself?

Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Arts: Books

Celebrating reading and the 100 novels that have shaped our world.