ASN Aircraft accident de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter C-FAGM Goose Bay, NL
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Monday 24 March 1986
Time:09:55
Type:Silhouette image of generic DHC3 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter
Operator:Goose Bay Air Services
Registration: C-FAGM
MSN: 400
First flight: 1961
Total airframe hrs:13258
Engines: 1 Pratt & Whitney R-1340
Crew:Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Passengers:Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 4
Total:Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 5
Aircraft damage: Damaged beyond repair
Location:76 km (47.5 mls) N of Goose Bay, NL (   Canada)
Phase: En route (ENR)
Nature:Domestic Non Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:Snegamook Lake, NL, Canada
Destination airport:Goose Bay Airport, NL (YYR/CYYR), Canada
Narrative:
A wheel/ski-equipped DHC-3 Otter aircraft was on the return leg of a charter flight to Snegamook Lake to retrieve a hunting party of four, along with their hunting gear and bounty of several hundred ptarmigan. It departed Snegamook Lake at 09:15. After takeoff, the engine began to run rough but improved somewhat when the power was reduced for cruising. As the aircraft was approaching Nipishish Lake, the pilot reported to company dispatch that the engine was again running rough, but he was able to maintain altitude, and he would follow the Crooked River toward Goose Bay in case a precautionary landing became necessary. Three minutes later, C-FAGM called dispatch again, advising them that he was intending to land on a large area on the Crooked River. He also indicated that there was an odour of smoke in the aircraft. The aircraft was in a nose-down, left- bank attitude, with the flaps fully extended and the skis retracted when it struck the frozen surface of the river. The Otter bounced clear of the surface, turned left came to rest in an upright position.

Probable Cause:

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The Canadian Aviation Safety Board determined that a fatigue-initiated crack in the number nine cylinder head caused the engine to run rough and lose power. While the pilot was manoeuvring for the precautionary landing in whiteout conditions, the aircraft crashed. At impact, the fuel cells ruptured, and a fire erupted which destroyed the aircraft."



Photos

photo of DHC-3-Otter-C-FAGM
accident date: 24-03-1986
type: de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter
registration: C-FAGM
 
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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