On 12 December 1985 , a civilian aircraft , Arrow Air Flight 1285 , chartered to transport some of the division from peacekeeping duty with the Multinational Force and Observers on the Sinai Peninsula to Kentucky , crashed just a short distance from Gander International Airport , Gander , Newfoundland . All eight air crew members and 248 US servicemen died , most were from the 3d Battalion , 502d Infantry . Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board investigators were unable to determine the exact sequence of events which led to the accident , but concluded that the probable cause was icing . At the time it was 17th most disastrous aviation accident in terms of fatalities . President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy traveled to Fort Campbell to comfort grieving family members
Arrow Air Flight 1285
Arrow Air Flight 1285
History of the 101st Airborne Division