Bearskin Airlines Flight 311

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Bearskin Airlines Flight 311
Bearskin Metro.jpg
C-FFZN, the aircraft involved in the accident
Accident
Date10 November 2013 (2013-11-10)
SummaryCrashed on approach after engine failure
SiteNear Red Lake Airport, Ontario, Canada
53°03′41.9″N93°47′09.6″W / 53.061639°N 93.786000°W / 53.061639; -93.786000
Aircraft
Aircraft type Swearingen SA227-AC Metro III
Operator Bearskin Airlines
IATA flight No.JV311
ICAO flight No.BLS311
Call signBEARSKIN 311
Registration C-FFZN
Flight origin Thunder Bay International Airport, Ontario, Canada
1st stopover Sioux Lookout Airport, Ontario, Canada
2nd stopover Red Lake Airport, Ontario, Canada
Destination Winnipeg Airport, Manitoba, Canada
Occupants7
Passengers5
Crew2
Fatalities5
Injuries2
Survivors2

On 10 November 2013, a Swearingen SA227-AC Metro III operating as Bearskin Airlines Flight 311, a regional flight in Ontario, Canada, from Sioux Lookout Airport to Red Lake Airport, crashed just 800 meters from the runway of its destination airport killing five of the seven people on board. [1] The cause of the accident was determined to be an engine failure, exacerbated by errors made by the crew, who were unable to identify the issue. [2]

Contents

Background

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Swearingen SA227-AC Metro III, manufactured in 1991 and registered as C-FFZN, with serial number AC-785B. [3]

Passengers and crew

On board the aircraft were two pilots and five passengers. The pilot in command was 34-year-old Captain Peter Traczuk, who accumulated a total of 5,150 flight hours, with 3,550 of those hours on this make and model. The pilot monitoring was 25-year-old First Officer Aniruddh Sawant, who had accumulated 2,200 flight hours, including 1,060 on this particular aircraft type. The five passengers were a 53-year-old woman, a 53-year-old man, a 64-year-old woman, which were among the fatalities along with the pilots and were all from Red Lake, the two survivors were a 29-year-old man and a 50-year-old woman both from Winnipeg. [2] [4]

Flight

Map of the Red Lake Airport, in yellow the Ontario Highway 125 which passes just south of airport, where Flight 311 crashed Red Lake Mine OSM.png
Map of the Red Lake Airport, in yellow the Ontario Highway 125 which passes just south of airport, where Flight 311 crashed

The aircraft was scheduled to fly from Thunder Bay, in Ontario, to Winnipeg, Manitoba with two stopovers in Sioux Lookout and Red Lake. The accident occurred on the Sioux Lookout-Red Lake leg of the flight. At 6:16 pm the aircraft was cleared to land on runway 26 at Red Lake, and at 6:27 the landing checklist was completed. Just one minute after the checklist, at about 500 feet above the ground, the crew reported an issue, that would be later identified as a failure of a first-stage turbine wheel blade in the left engine, but they weren't unable to identify it. The crew declared an emergency, maximum power was applied to the engines, and the landing gear was retracted. The aircraft then suddenly rolled to the left and struck trees and hydro lines with its wing. The aircraft crashed near Ontario Highway 125 and caught fire. Of the seven occupants both crew members died along with three passengers, of the two survivors one suffered serious injuries, the other minor injuries. [2] [1] [5] The two survivors left the wreckage of the aircraft before it was totally engulfed in flames. The fire was extingushed shortly after the crash by a local fire crew. [6] [7]

Investigation

The final report of the accident was published by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada one year and five months after the crash. The investigation found out that the engine failure was caused by a failure of a first-stage turbine wheel blade on the left engine, causing the aforementioned engine to suffer from a total loss of power. The crew's failure to identify the issue resulted in their inability to take the appropriate actions necessary to maintain control of the aircraft and perform a safe landing. The blade failure alongside the landing configuration of the aircraft resulted in it having a high drag and asymmetric state, so as the plane's speed reduced under the minimum control velocity the pilots lost control of the aircraft causing the crash. The recommendations that were issued were that the crew of Fairchild Swearingen Metroliners should pay attention to the aircraft's negative torque sensing system in case of an engine failure, in order to initiate an engine failure checklist in time, that borescope inspections and 450-hour fuel nozzle inspections should be done on this aircraft model to find in time eventual internal engine damage and to not re-install unserviceable fuel nozzles on this plane model. [2] [8] [9]

Aftermath

Shortly after the accident, Bearskin Airlines vice president declared that their biggest concern at the moment were the families of the deceased passengers and employees. On 11 November, the day following the crash, over 900 utilities in Red Lake remained without power due to the aircraft’s impact with hydro lines during the accident sequence. [10]

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References

  1. 1 2 "ASN Aircraft accident Swearingen SA227-AC Metro III C-FFZN Bearskin Airlines". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "LOSS OF ENGINE POWER – COLLISION WITH TERRAIN BEARSKIN LAKE AIR SERVICE LP (BEARSKIN AIRLINES) FAIRCHILD SA227-AC METRO III, C-FFZN RED LAKE, ONTARIO 10 NOVEMBER 2013" (PDF). Transportation Safety Board of Canada. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  3. ↑ "C-FFZN/CFFZN aviation photos on Jetphotos". Jetphotos. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  4. ↑ Jonathan Migneault (11 November 2013). "Five killed in Red Lake airplane crash". Sudbury.com. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  5. ↑ "Fairchild SA227 Bearskin Flight 311, C-FFZN Red Lake, Ontario". Federal Aviation Administration. 10 November 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  6. ↑ "Red Lake plane crash leaves community with 'heavy hearts'". CBC. 10 November 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  7. ↑ "More details expected today on Bearskin Airlines crash that killed 5 in Ontario". CTV News. 12 November 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  8. ↑ "Red Lake plane crash that killed 5 caused by engine failure, TSB says". CBC. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  9. ↑ Leith Dunik (14 April 2015). "TSB concludes investigation into fatal Red Lake plane crash". TBnewswatch.com. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  10. ↑ James Murray (11 November 2013). "Bearskin Airlines Crash Still Impacts Red Lake Area Hydro". NETNEWSLEDGER. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
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