Ice Pilots NWT reality TV star Mikey McBryan has purchased a severely deteriorated Douglas DC-3 that had been rotting away on the grounds of the Saint Hubert airport (CYHU) south of Montreal. McBryan, Buffalo Airways’ general manager, plans to have the aircraft restored, or at least ‘flight-ready’, in time to participate in the celebrations taking place this coming June 6 to mark the 75^th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of German-occupied France.

In an interview with the CBC, McBryan was quoted as saying, “I never knew the DC-3s dropped bombs on D-Day.” He went on to say in an Instagram post that the aircraft logbook entries prove that his aircraft participated in the bombing that took place that day, dropping 12 twenty-pound bombs.

The aircraft was built in January, 1944 as a C-47A, tail number 42-92541 and serial number 12253. Purchased on eBay, McBryan plans to rebuild the aircraft on its current site. “This will be a huge undertaking as this aircraft has been stripped out over the past three decades,” said McBryan.

Buffalo Airways, founded by McBryan’s father Joe and based in Yellowknife, N.W.T, currently operates a fleet of DC-3s and C-47As. Said McBryan, “…luckily enough we know where [there] is lots of DC-3 parts.”

McBryan says he plans to fly the aircraft to Oshkosh in time for AirVenture 2019.