Saturday marks 40 years since Grant Notley plane crash

Oct 19, 2024 | 6:00 AM

Saturday marks 40 years since a plane crash near Slave Lake that killed six people, including Alberta NDP leader Grant Notley.

Notley was the MLA for the old Spirit River-Fairview constituency and leader of the official opposition at the time.

Notley was first elected the MLA for Spirit River-Fairview in August of 1971. He was also the father of future NDP leader and Premier Rachel Notley.

The current constituency that takes in the area he represented, Central Peace-Notley, carries his name in his honour.

The four people who survived the crash included Lesser Slave Lake MLA and Minister of Housing Larry Shaben. Shaben was from High Prairie.

An entry on Wikipedia says that on October 19, 1984, the plane they were on crashed into the woods on a hillside covered in snow.

The full story of the crash can be found in the book Into the Abyss, written by Larry’s daughter Carol Shaben.

Thank you to the Wikipedia articles linked above for the information contained in this story.

by Curtis Galbraith