Flying Ace Billy Barker - Killed by Ottawa?

On March 12, 1930, lieutenant-Colonel William George “Billy” Barker was killed in a crash at Rockcliffe airport in Ottawa while demonstrating a new training plane. Since Barker was a highly skilled pilot and there was no indication of mechanical malfunction, it has been theorized that Barker deliberately crashed the plane, thus committing suicide. During World War I, he had brought down 53 German planes and was praised as a hero, but once home after the war, his years were filled with constant pain and depression. One of his early planes was the Sopwith two-seater Dove, which was later reconstructed and transferred to Canada for permanent display at the Canadian War Museum.