On December 12, 1985, Arrow Air Flight 1285, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8 carrying 248 Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and eight flight crew, crashed soon after takeoff from Gander International Airport in Newfoundland, Canada. It was the single worst mass casualty event in the division's history and had the highest death toll of any plane crash on Canadian soil. An official investigation blamed icy wings as the most likely cause of the crash, but a minority report held that an internal explosion was more likely. Married soldiers with families had been given priority for seats on the flight in an effort to reunite them with their families before Christmas. Among the first to arrive on the scene that morning were 12 American service members, U.S. Navy sailors from a detachment stationed in Gander, who helped put out fires, secure the area, search for survivors, assist in identifying soldiers, and honor the dead with prayer vigils as the remains were prepared for transport home.