14 APRIL 2015
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) today
released its investigation report
(A13C0150) into the November 2013 fatal aircraft accident in Red Lake,
Ontario. Two flight crew members and 3 of the 5 passengers lost their lives
when the aircraft crashed just south of the airport near a highway.
On 10 November 2013, a Bearskin Airlines Fairchild SA227
Metro III, on a flight from Sioux Lookout, Ontario, was on final approach to
the Red Lake airport. The crew reported that they were 5 miles from the
airport, and shortly thereafter declared an emergency. The aircraft struck
trees along with some power lines, and was destroyed by a post-impact fire. Two
passengers were able to evacuate the aircraft with non-life threatening
injuries.
The investigation found that the crew experienced a near
total loss of power in the left engine at 500 feet above ground level due to a
failure of an internal engine component. The crew was unable to identify the
nature of the engine malfunction, preventing them from taking timely action to
control the aircraft.
The aircraft’s landing configuration generated higher drag
which, combined with the engine malfunction, resulted in the aircraft losing
airspeed in an asymmetric power state. As the aircraft slowed, the crew lost
control at an altitude from which a recovery was not possible.
Following the occurrence, the aircraft operator revised its
single engine and engine failure procedures to ensure that the propeller on a
malfunctioning engine does not cause excessive drag.
Honeywell, the engine manufacturer, increased the inspection
frequency on fuel nozzles and clarified inspection procedures. Transport Canada
issued a Civil Aviation Safety Alert regarding issues with the negative torque
sensing (NTS) system on Honeywell TPE-331 engines, to emphasize the need to
feather and secure propellers during engine power loss events.