Aviation News, Headlines & Alerts
 
Category: <span>First Air</span>

First Air Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Montreal

First AirFirst Air flight 7F-866 had to return and make an emergency landing in Montreal, Canada, on September 19th.

The Boeing 737-400 plane took off for Kuujjuaq, Canada, but had to turn back after a strong odor was noticed in the cabin and cockpit.

The plane landed safely. All 69 people aboard remained unhurt.


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First Air Jet Crash Update


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Gilbert Hechema

What: First Air Boeing 737-210C en route from Yellow Knife to Resolute
Where: near Resolute Airport, Nunavut, Canada
When: August 20, 2011
Who: 4 crew, 11 passengers, 12 fatalities
Why: After the First Air jet was on final instrument landing system approach to 35T but failed to update its position.

The fog obscured its location, but shortly afterwards, lifting fog revealed the burning wreckage broken into three pieces, and the scattered 2,250 kilograms of food the flight was carrying. That food has been of interest to hungry polar bears, and a trial to forensic crews protecting the evidence.

Remains of the passengers have been recovered. Eleven individuals were flown to Ottowa for identification. The black boxes have been recovered and taken to an Ottawa lab.

The Air Line Pilots Association has been declared an official observer of the crash.

Note: CFIT is a “Controlled flight into terrain,” an accident in which an airworthy aircraft under pilot control is unintentionally flown into an obstacle.

Mystery Boeing Crash in Nunavut Canada


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Contact photographer Gilbert Hechema

What: First Air Boeing 737-210C en route from Yellow Knife to Resolute
Where: near Resolute Airport, Nunavut, Canada
When: August 20, 2011
Who: 4 crew, 11 passengers, 12 fatalities
Why: On approach to Resolute Bay Airport, the plane impacted the hillside. The wreckage was found five miles from the airport.

Three survivors were recovered. There were twelve fatalities, including the entire crew. Two survivors (a seven year old and a 48 year old) were taken to Ottawa hospital, and the third (a 23 year old woman) is reported to be stable at Qikiqtani General Hospital in Iqaluit where all of the survivors were originally taken. Two forensic teams are on the scene (one to identify the bodies, and one for accident investigation), and the black boxes have been recovered.

The weather at the time of the crash was he weather was rainy with a low cloud ceiling, and reported to be patchy fog. A mock rescue military exercise was going on with 700 military personnel when the crash was reported. They responded to the crash with helicopters and medical personnel. Eleven RCMP personnel were also part of the rescue unit. The senior administrative officer, Ralph Alexander, said it wasn’t foggy enough in Resolute at the time of the crash to have caused the accident, and that planes landed there in worse visibility. However there have been reports of locals hearing the impact but not seeing anything because of dense fog. The charred wreckage is in three parts with smaller plane parts and remains scattered.

The crash site is less than two kilometres west of Resolute, a small tight-knit community with many individuals directly affected by the twelve fatalities.

The passenger manifest has not yet been made public but the owner of South Camp Inn, Aziz (Ozzie) Kheraj, reportedly lost a granddaughter on the crash, and one survived.

First Air held a news conference at in Kanata, Ontario on Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.

Transport Canada issued the following release:


At approximately 12:30 EST, First Air Flight 6560 from Yellowknife to Resolute Bay crashed on approach to Resolute Bay. There were 15 passengers on board. At this time, 12 people are thought to be dead and three injured. Our thoughts go out to those affected by this tragic accident.

Transport Canada has appointed a Minister’s Observer, who will keep TC informed of the investigation’s progress. We will cooperate fully with the Transportation Safety Board who is currently on site investigating this accident.

The Canadian Armed Forces are in Resolute Bay for Exercise Operation Nanook 2011 and are responding in support of emergency operations to the situation.

Contacts:

Media Relations
Transport Canada, Ottawa
613-993-0055

First Air published this:

On Sunday August 21, 2011, First Air Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Chris Ferris, made the following statement to the media from the First Air Head Office in Kanata:

As you are aware, yesterday at 12:40pm First Air experienced a tragic loss of
charter flight 6560. We are deeply saddened by this tragedy and offer our sincere condolences to the families.

The details we have at this time are as follows: a First Air Boeing 737-200 combi travelling from Yellowknife to Resolute Bay, went down 5 miles from the airport. The flight was carrying 11 passengers and four crew. There were 12 fatalities including all four crew members.

Our first priority has been contacting and looking after the families of passengers and crew. Out of respect for the passengers, our crew, and their families, we are not releasing any names or passenger details.

The three injured passengers were Medivac’d to Iqaluit for further treatment last evening. Two of the three passengers have since been moved to Ottawa, while the third remains in Iqaluit in stable condition.

At this time the cause of the accident is unknown. The Transportation Safety Board is conducting their investigation and First Air is cooperating fully.

Our thoughts and focus are with the families and friends of the passengers and crew; and the community of Resolute Bay. Field teams including counsellors, have been deployed to provide support in Resolute Bay, Yellowknife and other main stations in our network.

We would like to thank the Canadian Military whose on-site presence and immediate response was instrumental in the rescue efforts.

We will be providing further updates as they become available.


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Ice on PT2 Probe Disrupts Take Off


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Contact photographer Yuda

What: First Air Boeing 737-200 en route from Winnipeg,MB to Rankin Inlet,NU
Where: Winnipeg
When: Feb 18th 2011
Who: not available
Why: The plane rejected takeoff on receipt of the left engine’s low power indication.

Maintenance subsequently found ice on the PT2 probe. Disposition of the passengers was not released.


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First Air: False Overheat


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Contact photographer Yuda

What: A First Air Boeing 737-200 en route from Norman Wells, to Inuvik
Where: Inuvik
When: Nov 15th 2010
Who: 22 aboard
Why: After takeoff, the right engine’s warning light came on. The crew declared an emergency but continued to Inuvik to make a safe landing.

On examination, the overheat detection mechanism was faulty.


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First Air Lands Safely at Iqaluit with One Engine Down


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Contact photographer Invader26

What: First Air Avions de Transport Regional ATR-42-300 en route from Pangnirtung to Iqaluit
Where: Iqaluit
When: Nov 9th 2010
Who: 13 on board
Why: North East of Iqaluit, low oil forced pilots to shut down an engine. The pilot dropped to a lower altitude and landed safely at Iqaluit.


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First Air Altitude/Speed At Odds


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Peter Tsagaris

What: First Air Boeing 767-200 en route from Ottawa to Iqaluit
Where: Iqaluit
When: Dec 12th 2009
Who: 4 crew
Why: The runway was not clear (assuming this means weather /precipitation) and after takeoff, airspeed dropped as the plane climbed, and the plane nearly stalled. The flight continued to its destination. Flight data was analyzed after the fact, and it was concluded that airspeed had dropped, and that the safety management system needed adjustment

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