Plane Wreck of Heritage Park – Mission, British Columbia - Atlas Obscura
Places near me Random place
Plane Wreck of Heritage Park is permanently closed.

AO Edited

Plane Wreck of Heritage Park

Mission, British Columbia

Mysterious wreckage of a small plane has been lodged in this tree since at least 1971. 

View all photos
Wreckage pieces that remain, March 2021 elliotthav (Atlas Obscura User)
Wreckage pieces that remain, March 2021 elliotthav (Atlas Obscura User)
Wreckage pieces that remain, March 2021 elliotthav (Atlas Obscura User)
Wreckage pieces that remain, March 2021 elliotthav (Atlas Obscura User)
the second piece, neither in the tree anymore. rmgillcash (Atlas Obscura User)
59
409
Related Stories
airplanes

8 Plane Wrecks That Have Become Their Own Memorials

These abandoned airplanes lie where they landed.
Eric Grundhauser May 6, 2016
Top Places in British Columbia
The Gastown steam clock
Gastown Steam Clock
Vancouver, British Columbia
Salmagundi West
Vancouver, British Columbia
'Hornby Uintotherium'
Comox-Strathcona K, British Columbia
 See All

Along one of the winding forest trails between Heritage Park and the Westminster Abbey, you’ll find the mysterious wreckage of a single seater plane wedged into the branches of a tree. The crash consists of what appears to be the cockpit roof, and possibly a wing. Many locals have never seen it, and no one can rightly say what happened or why it was never cleaned up.  Though it has graffiti and signatures on the plane dating back to 1971 it may have been moved, making its origin even harder to pinpoint. 

Update April 2024: The pieces are no longer in the tree. The plane crash was cleared out.

Know Before You Go

Head towards the St Mary's residential school from Heritage Park, and take the trailhead closest to the school. From there you'll take the first trail coming off the main path on the right. Follow this trail (sticking to the right at any junctions) and it won't take you more than 30 minutes to find it. Be aware for other trail users. These trails are popular with locals for hiking, dog walking, and mountain biking. The trails are maintained by Fraser Valley Mountain Bike Association volunteers.

crash site aircraft disasters
Nearby
Sumas Substation
7.98 miles
Friendship 500
13.28 miles
Tradish's The Ancestor Cafe
13.43 miles
Want to see fewer ads? Become a Member.
Near This Place
Nearby roadsign
Abbotsford, British Columbia

Sumas Substation

A former electric substation that was converted into a magnificent mansion.
Friendship 500
Maple Ridge, British Columbia

Friendship 500

A floating McDonald's built for Expo '86 is now a derelict relic on Burrard Inlet.
Fort Langley, British Columbia

Tradish's The Ancestor Cafe

First Nations’ foodways are front and center at this food truck-turned-brick-and-mortar.
Faerie Village
Surrey, British Columbia

Faerie Village of Redwood Park

A colorful hidden village of the fair folk.
Related Places
The marker.
Eureka, North Carolina

Goldsboro Nuclear Mishap

A sign marks the plane crash that caused two nuclear bombs to fall in North Carolina.
Rokers Point Settlement, Bahamas

Underwater Plane Wreck Near Staniel Cay

One of the most accessible undersea plane wrecks in the world.
North Pole, Alaska

Lady of the Lake

An abandoned aircraft sits submerged in a lake in the Alaska wilderness.
Nishikaichi's Aircraft
Kaumakani, Hawaii

Site of the Ni'ihau Incident

A Japanese pilot crash-landed on this Hawaiian island after the Pearl Harbor attack and terrorized locals for a week.
From Around the Web