Boeing 707-138B N791SA "Empress of Sydney" (formerly VH-EBC) at Vancouver after being extricated from the building with which it collided on 7 February 1968. This photo was uploaded to the website on 7 February 2007, the 39th anniversary of the accident.Photo: Tom Grant

Photographer Tom Grant describes the accident:

"This CPA 707 wet leased from Standard Airways made a statement upon landing one dark, foggy morning at Vancouver on 7 February 1968. This could have been a disaster. This aircraft came down on runway 08 (eastbound), swerved off to the south toward the terminal, cut across the ramp taking out the corner of the Aero Club building and two small aircraft with its starboard wing. One of these aircraft ended up in one of the starboard engines removing it from the wing. The B707 then cut across the terminal ramp in front of a fully fueled Air Canada DC-8 and a DC- 9 and came to a stop in the CAE building. A couple of the engines were still roaring. The terminal was evacuated. Personnel rushed to the aircraft to get the passengers and crew off. One person died on board (a Flight Attendant), and one DOT employee died in the building. You can see that the flight crew survived because the nosewheel collapsed and the roof of the building cut further back on the fuselage. I'll not forget having my morning coffee with colleagues in the terminal restaurant and hearing a roar and lights swish by the large windows. The Gods smiled on us that day, for a slight deviation, left or right, of the B707's path would have hit the main terminal or fueled aircraft."

Graham Collins describes the collateral damage to other aircraft:

"One of the two aircraft destroyed by the starboard wing of the 707 was a Beechcraft owned by my dad and a group of his friends. Their Beechcraft had just been ferried back after being refurbished in the US by Flightcraft in Portland, Oregon. Due to a late day arrival, the Bonanza had to stay overnight on the ramp while waiting for customs clearance before being released back to the owners. The next morning the leased Canadian Pacific 707 lost control and veered off the runway with the starboard wing passing right over XDC. As my dad and his friends said afterwards if only the engine wasn't hanging right below that section of the wing, it might have turned out quite differently. After the outboard starboard engine of the 707 passed through the Beechcraft's cockpit, it struck a Cessna 185 that was on amphibious floats. Due to it's greater height the 185 was completely demolished but the damage to the Bonanza was still sufficient to cause XDC to be written off by the insurance company."