One-hundred-year-old Reginald "Crash" Harrison comes by his nickname honestly. A veteran of the Second World War, Harrison had his airplane blow up on the runway before he was even deployed after a 500-pound bomb dislodged from the bomb bay.
"When I came to, it was still dark. I could see the stars, and I thought. Geez. Everything was quiet, and my first thought was I must be in heaven." Harrison said recalling the event.
He survived, but it wouldn’t be his last brush with death.
On his 13th flight, a concerned tail gunner requested they call this "Flight 12A," afraid of the superstition behind the number.
Shortly after takeoff, Harrison experienced engine failure. He crash-landed and, again, miraculously survived. After this incident, he earned the nickname — a name he would live up to two more times.
Harrison recalls being shot down by friendly fire, being stuck in a plane plummeting to the ground, only to bail at the last minute, hiking with his crew through a valley for a whole day before reaching civilization.
Harrison was at the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum on Sunday to see how far his luck would take him, after getting an opportunity to fly in a vintage de Havilland Tiger Moth airplane.
Despite having crashed four times, Harrison was not afraid to get back behind the controls of one of the aircraft he flew in training. As he put it, he's got more experience than most.
"The lady helped get me strapped in and told me what to do in an emergency situation, I thought to myself, well I've been in emergency situations before so I'm not too concerned."
Harrison flew the Tiger Moth over the skies of Saskatoon with co-pilot Edward Soye. The experience brought back something he says he thought he lost.
Soye reflected on being able to fly with such a storied pilot.
"It was really nice to get in the airplane, and actually just talk to him one-on-one, he did a little flying. I hope I’m doing that well when I’m over 100."
After the Second World War, Harrison’s air unit would eventually morph into the famous Snowbirds of today. Since his service, Reggie was given the title of "Honorary Snowbird."
The RCAF turns 100 in 2024, and Harrison turns 101 in August. He hopes to attend the centennial of the RCAF next year.
