Canada

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    Robinson, Cessna, Spitfire, Airbus, Piper and Homebuilt Crashes

    On March 17, 2013:

    • The aircraft and pilot were hijacked at gun point. The Quebec Helicoptor’s Robinson R44 made an illegal flight and crashed in Quebec Canada while en route from Mot-Tremblant to Saint Jerome. Hijacker took the chopper to St. Jerome, where two escapees attached to cables, and were taken to Mont-Tremblant. The pilot was wounded, two escapees were collared as well as two accomplices.
    • A privately owned Cessna 180K landed in a crosswind, crashed off the tarmac and ended with its nose in the ground Digby / Annapolis Regional Airport, Nova Scotia. The pilot was unhurt but the propeller, engine, and one wingtip sustained damage.
    • A privately owned Supermarine Spitfire replica performing in the Antique and Classic Aircraft Display crashed during an air show when the plane nosedived and struck a fence, killing pilot Roger Stokes near Parafield Airport.
    • A Novair Airbus A320-231 with two hundred aboard took off from Oslow Norway at 9:00, and a tire exploded. Pilots circled the airport for two hours and burned off fuel, making a safe landing at 11:25.
    • A Total Security Products Corp Piper crashed on approach to Stafford Regional Airport
    • The pilot of a homebuilt flight was en route from Casarrubios Airport and crashed in El Álamo, Madrid. Two fire crews arrived on the scene. The pilot built the plane that crashed and killed him.
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    Piper Lands in Canadian Blizzard


    On Jan 29, 2013, at 9:15 a.m., an Image Air Charter Ltd Piper PA-46-500TP Malibu Meridian was en route from La Crete, Alta to Three Hills (Canada) with three people aboard when it attempted to land in bad weather at Three Hills Airport.

    The plane descended into a blizzard, and at one end of the runway struck an ice berm that knocked off the left wing. One wing and the landing gear were damaged. Conditions were so bad that no one at the hanger knew there was an accident until emergency crews arrived. Three Hills RCMP, Fire and EMS responded. An environmental services company cleaned up the fuel leak.

    One passenger who was suffering chest pains was taken to the hospital.

    The 2008 Piper PA-46-500TP Turbo Prop is registered to Image Air Charter Ltd.

    The NTSB is investigating.


    Go to Flight Aware

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    Northern Thunderbird Air Sued for 2011 Crash

    Here’s a case that did not rush to court.

    Six passengers of the October 2011 crash listed below have filed suit against Northern Thunderbird Air. The pilot and co-pilot, Luc Fortin and Matt Robic died shortly after the crash. Seven passengers were rescued six of whom are listed in the suit. Prior to takeoff, passengers informed the crew they saw oil under the wing. After takeoff, the pilot told the passengers he would be returning because oil was pouring from the wing.

    The helicopter hit a lamp post, a car and smashed up on the road. An additional part of the suit is that the plane lacked an electrical cutoff switch to reduce fire threat.

    NTSB Report:
    On October 27, 2011, about 1600 pacific daylight time, a Beechcraft King Air 100, C-GXRX, operated by Northern Thunderbird Air, Inc. collided with terrain while attempting to land at the Vancouver International Airport, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was in effect. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and a postcrash fire ensued. The pilot was killed. The copilot, seven passengers, and two people on the ground were seriously injured. The accident investigation is under the jurisdiction and control of the Canadian government.

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    Rescue Pilot Rescued by Rescuees

    After a boat rescue failed, on January 9, 2013, a Bell 206 Jet Ranger with only the pilot aboard was rescuing two Nunavut seal hunters, Joe Karetak, who is in his 50s, and his 20-year-old son, who were stranded off the west shore of Hudson Bay. The brutal wind chill was -50 C.

    The helicopter was from Customs Helicopter in Gillam Manitoba.

    The hunters had left on snow mobiles but hadn’t returned home, initiating the search.

    The helicopter landed safely but broke through the ice—it was partially on ice, partially in the water 100 meters from the hunters.

    The pilot was rescued by the hunters.

    A second helicopter assisting in the original rescue took the hunters and the pilot to Arviat. The rescue was coordinated by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.

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    Snowboarder Rescued by Search and Rescue team

    On December 18, 2012, the crew aboard a RCAF Cormorant search and rescue found and rescued a snowboarder stranded in a steep ravine between Horseshoe Bay and Lions Bay, British Columbia.

    In poor visibility and blowing snow, the 442 Transport and Rescue Squad hoisted Search and Rescue Teams 300 feet through trees to the waiting snowboarder who was retrieved, then flown to Vancouver International Airport and handed over to B.C. Ambulance.

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    Crash Kills Six Month Old Baby

    December 22, 2012, at 18:13 a Perimeter Aviation/ Kivalliq Air Swearingen SA227-AC Metro III en route from Winnipeg to Sanikiluaq airport crashed during its second approach.

    The flight had two crew and seven passengers. One of the passengers died when the plane crashed at the end of the runway. The plane was landing during blowing snow and overran the western end of the runway by about about 600 feet.

    The fatality on charter flight 671 was a six month old boy. The pilot was treated for injuries on the scene. The co-pilot was flown to a Winnipeg hospital.

    RCMP and the Chief Coroner of Nunavut are investigating.

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    Emergency Landing in Waterloo

    What: Private Cessna en route from Waterloo-Wellington Flight Centre
    Where: Region of Waterloo International Airport
    When: Dec 13, 2012
    Who: flight instructor, pilot
    Why: Pilots made an emergency landing in Waterloo with emergency services on standby.

    The flight was en route when smoke developed in the cockpit.

    THe smoke is being blamed on a leaky oil seal dripping oil on to the muffler.

    The plane landed with emergency services on standby but taxied on its own steam to the hanger.

    No injuries were reported.

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    Kit Plane Crashes Near Airport

    What: Kit plane en route from Niagara District Airport
    Where: Niagara-on-the-Lake airport
    When: Nov 18, 2012, 2:15 pm
    Who: 2 aboard
    Why: The two seat plane took off from Niagara-on-the-Lake airport, but had an immediate emergency. Pilots attempted to return to the airport.

    They failed to make the runway, and crashed.

    The pilot and passenger were both injured. They were transported to St. Catharines General Hospital.

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    Plane Crash in Ontario

    What: Lake LA-250 Renegade
    Where: South of Pickle Lake Airport CYPL, Ontario
    When: Oct 16, 2012
    Who: 4 aboard, 3 fatalities
    Why: A plane on a ferry flight to new owners landing at Pickle Lake Airport and crashed three kilometers past the end of the runway in a wooded area.

    At two a.m. a search for the plane was initiated, after a beacon went off. A 424 Squadron parachute team dispatched from a C130 Hercules Trenton, Ont.

    Three individuals died at the scene. A fourth has been hospitalized.in Winnipeg.

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    Forestville Plane Crash

    What: Floatplane
    Where: North of Forestville, Quebec
    When: Sept 18, 2012 1 pm
    Who: 2 fatalities
    Why: The floatplane carrying two men crashed in an inaccessible area near a North Shore lake, Lake Petit Argent killing one man in his twenties and one in his fifties.

    After they were recovered by Canadian Forces Rescue, they were rushed to a Baie-Comeau hospital. The cause of the crash is unknown. The victims names have not been released.

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    American Airlines Medical Emergency Diversion to Iqaluit

    What: American Airlines Boeing 777 en route from London to Los Angeles
    Where: Iqaluit
    When: Sept 4, 2012
    Who: 1 medical emergency
    Why: The flight was en route when one passenger developed a medical emergency. The flight made a safe landing and the passenger was taken to Qikiqtani General Hospital.

    After spending 4 hours on the tarmac with the passengers all aboard, the 777 had to be inspected (for the overweight landing) before it continued to Los Angeles

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    Cessna Crashes in Canadian Cornfield

    The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is sending investigators to the site of a crash involving a Cessna 172 that occurred near Mapleton Township, Ont., Friday night.

    OPP say the plane was found in a cornfield and that the four occupants – three men and one woman were found dead.

    Mapleton Township is located north of Kitchener, Ont.

    What: single engine Cessna 172 en route to Niagara Falls and then Toronto.
    Where: Mapleton Township
    When: August 24, 2012, 8:30 p.m.
    Who: 4 aboard
    Why: A 19 year old woman and 3 twenty year olds were in a rental plane sightseeing when it crashed in the middle of a 50 acre corn field. The plane went off radar about nineteen minutes before emergency crews were notified (8:39).

    Witnesses saw the plane making spirals in the air before it pointed nose down, began sputtering and then the “the engine went dead silent and plummeted down. And within a second or two we heard a really loud bump.”

    The wreckage was located at 10:30 pm. The farmer carved out a path for investigators with his tractor.

    The remains have been taken to a Hamilton hospital.

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    Two of four Lost in Brenda Mines Crash

    What: Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche en route from Pentiction to Boundary Bay
    Where: Brenda Mines, 22 kilometres west of Peachland Canada
    When: August 13, 2012
    Who: 4 aboard, 2 fatalities
    Why: The plane was off course when it crashed at 5 p.m. local time near Brenda Mines. One person died on the scene. Three passengers were hospitalized in Kelowna and Kamloops hospital, where one later died.

    A Cormorant helicopter responded to the emergency beacon and did a flyby over the wreckage before rescuers parachuted in. BC Air Ambulance Service transported injured to the hospital; one was flown to Royal Inland Hospital.

    The first victim was identified as Dallas Smith; the second victim to succumb to injuries was Lauren Sewell, 24. Smith was her boyfriend. The plane ride was a birthday present from Sewell to Smith.
    Video Below

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    Newfoundland Runway Overrun


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Carlos Aleman

    What: Ilyushin Il-76TD-90VD
    Where: St. John’s International Airport, Newfoundland
    When: Aug 13 2012
    Who: 9 crew
    Why: On landing at St Johns, the plane overran the end of the runway. The plane sustained some damage as well as runway lighting.

    The incident is under investigation. According to the the Canadian TSB, the accident is still in the “Field Phase” during which a team of investigators examine the occurrence site and wreckage, interview witnesses and collect pertinent information.

    Photos courtesy of St. John’s International Airport Authority

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    Cessna Lands in Canadian Marsh

    What: Cessna 337 en route from Fort McMurray to Buffalo Narrows, Sask.
    Where: Fort McMurray
    When: June 28, 2012 3:45 pm
    Who: 2 aboard
    Why: When the Cessna they were in developed engine trouble, the pilots made an emergency landing in a marsh south of Fort McMurray. No injuries were reported.

    Canada’s TSB is investigating.

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    Vintage Sightseeing Plane Belly Up after Rockcliffe Sightseeing Tour, No Fatalities

    What: Central Aviation Waco UPF-7
    Where: Rockcliffe, Ottawa, ON Canada
    When: June 17, 2012
    Who: 3 aboard
    Why: On landing after a sightseeing excursion, a 73 year old biplane plane flipped on the runway. The 66 and 64 year old passengers were hospitalized with minor injuries. The 53 year old pilot (Gary) went home. Fire crews applied foam to the leaked fuel and flipped the plane right side up.

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    Emirates A380 Diverts to Ottowa


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Kris Mogford

    What: Emirates Airlines Airbus A380-800 en route from Dubai to Toronto
    Where: Ottowa
    When: Jun 1st 2012
    Who: 530 aboard
    Why: On approach to Toronto, the pilot entered a holding pattern due to bad weather, but on approach, was alerted to windshear, and made another precautionary go-round due to gusty conditions. They diverted to Ottowa where they made a safe landing. the plane touched down safely shortly after 5 p.m.

    The plane refueled, and made a safe landing in Toronto at Pearson after 9 pm.

    Pilots had declared (and undeclared) a fuel emergency on approach to Ottowa. After landing, the runway was inspected.

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    Canadian Helicopter Wrecks at Sleeping Beauty

    What: Bailey Helicopters Ltd.Eurocopter AS 350B2 AStar flying out of CYXJ/Fort St John General Airport
    Where: Sleeping Beauty Mountain. Terrace BC, Canada
    When: June 1, 2012
    Who: 3 aboard, 3 fatalities
    Why: At nine oclock, ATC lost contact with a training flight flown by 45-year-old Peter Bryant. Two other Bailey Helicopter employees were also aboard.

    A search and rescue team including a Canadian Armed Forces Buffalo fixed-wing aircraft and a Cormorant helicopter out of Comox were all deployed to the electronic flight tracking system location and confirmed that the Eurocopter crashed in poor weather (described as “horrible”) into Sleeping Beauty Mountain. The area was undergoing rain and snow, and considered unsafe by an avalanche technician. One rescue searcher hiked to the crash site.

    The remains have now been recovered, though it was a hazardous recovery, during which an avalanche occurred.

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    Dubai -Toronto Flight, First Ever A380 Diverts to and Lands in Ottowa


    What: Emirates airbus A380 en route from Dubai to Toronto
    Where: Ottowa
    When: June 1, 2012
    Who: 530+ passengers
    Why: After taking off from Dubai, the pilot encountered problems. In fact, pilots circled Toronto before they diverted to Ottowa, where they made a safe landing with firefighters and paramedic emergency services on standby. The plane, the first A380 ever to land at Ottawa International Airport, touched down at 5 pm.

    Pilots diverted to Ottowa because Ottawa International Airport has a 10,000-foot runway. An A380 requires at least 9,875 feet.

    According to Global Toronto, the jet nearly ran out of fuel after being rerouted due to torrential rains in Toronto.

    The flight eventually made it to Toronto at 9:00 pm.

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    Air Canada Engine Spews Parts


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Francisco Muro

    What: Air Canada Boeing 777-333ER
    Where: Toronto Canada
    When: May 28 2012
    Who: 318 passengers, 16 crew
    Why: After a louder than normal take-off, fifteen minutes into the flight, pilots of the Air Canada Boeing en route from Toronto to Japan shut off an engine. Witnesses reported smoke and fire coming from the right engine.

    The flight had to return to Toronto following engine problems. Falling bits of engine debris “hot bits of blackened metal” fell from the sky and caused some damage to parked vehicles near Derry and Kennedy Rds in Mississauga. The entire circuit of the flight took about an hour and a half.

    There were no injuries on the flight, but emergency services were on standby on landing, in expectation of trauma.

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    De Havilland Brenda Mines Crash Victims Identified

    What: de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver en route from Pitt Meadows to Okanagan Lake
    Where: Brenda Mines
    When: May 13, 2012, 6:45 p.m
    Who: three aboard, three fatalities
    Why: The plane had taken off from Pitt Meadows airport and was en route back from Okanagan lake when it went down in a wooded area below Highway 97C about seven kilometers west of the Brenda Mines Road intersection. There was a fire at the scene. Witnesses say the plane was headed toward “Peachland” possibly looking for a landing site toward Merritt when it went down.

    According to the NTSB, the accident site is about ten minutes out of Kelowna.

    A Cormorant helicopter and a Buffalo airplane, the coroner, B.C. Ambulance, Kelowna Fire Department and Kelowna RCMP responded to the scene. The plane caught fire.

    Pilot Colin Moyes, 52, and passengers Peter Keate, 81 and Inez Keate, 79 have been identified as the crash victims. The pilot had his future in-laws in the cabin. His wedding would have been June 23. He leaves behind his 11 year old son. Moyes is also survived by his fiancee and her two children. A memorial is scheduled at 2 p.m., May 27, at North Vancouver’s Pinnacle Hotel.

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    Small Planes Collide, 5 Fatalities, Mile of Debris

    What: Bourgault Industries Piper PA-28 Cherokee
    What: Lake LA-4-200 Buccaneer amphibious plane
    Where: Brieux, Saskatchewan
    When: May 12, 2012
    Who: 5 fatalities
    Why: Two men and a boy were aboard the Piper PA-28 en route from Calgary to St. Brieux to pick up plane parts; and a woman and man were aboard the amphibious plane flying from Regina to La Ronge.

    The planes made some kind of impact in the air, after which both planes impacted the ground. The Buccaneer plane was found in shallow water. Piper debris was found around Brieux.

    The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Trenton, Ont said that indications are that the planes made contact at low altitude and it appears that the amphibious plane struck the Piper.

    The planes were found less than a kilometre apart with a debris field of more than a mile.

    Bourgault Industries is a airline seeding company. The RCMP asked Jerry Bourgault to assist, and he flew his Piper Super Cub to find the debris field.

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    US Airways Diverts to Gander


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

    What: US Airways Boeing 757-200 en route from Dublin to Charlotte
    Where: Gander
    When: May 8th 2012
    Why: After taking off from Dublin, one of the engines developed a situation not unlike a stuck carburetor.

    Pilots troubleshooted (troubleshot?) the problem but then shut down the engine and diverted to diverted to Gander, where they made a safe landing.

    The mechanical repair was performed. (The issue was mechanical, not digital.) Meanwhile, a replacement flight was provided to transport the passengers to Charlotte.

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    DC-10 with Faulty Reverser Returns to Calgary


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Andre Oferta

    What: Kelowna McDonnell Douglas DC-10 en route from Calgary to Hamilton
    Where: Calgary
    When: Apr 29th 2012
    Who: 3 crew
    Why: A flight from Calgary to Hamilton returned back in Calgary after an engine was shut down with a faulty “thrust reverser” part.