 On 20 February 1959 , the development of the Arrow ( and its Iroquois engines ) was abruptly halted before the project review had taken place . Two months later , the assembly line , tooling , plans and existing airframes and engines were ordered to be destroyed . The cancellation was the topic of considerable political controversy at the time , and the subsequent destruction of the aircraft in production remains a topic for debate among historians and industry pundits . " This action effectively put Avro out of business and its highly skilled engineering and production personnel scattered .... " 
