De Havilland DHC-3 Otter

The single engine airplane has to be ferried back to its base following repairs after it suffered an incident last February 1992. It crashed upon takeoff in unknown circumstances. There were no casualties but the aircraft was written off.

The pilot departed the Air Saguenay base at Squaw Lake, Schefferville in northern Quebec around 07:00 local on a VFR flight to Desbergères Lake, about 210 miles to the northwest. The float-equipped C-FBSF was carrying six passengers and equipment for hunting caribou. Weather conditions deteriorated 30 minutes into the flight. The pilot entered a narrow valley some 50 miles northwest of Schefferville, then realised he could not clear the mountain peaks because of the lower ceiling in that area. When he tried to turn around to the left he flew into a fog bank. On emerging from the fog he saw the aircraft was going to strike the mountain. He raised the nose to minimize the force of the impact and tried to set the Otter down on the mountain side. The floats slid about 150 feet along the rocky surface, then broke off. The engine struck the ground and was torn off. The engine then rolled under the aircraft and came to rest on the right side of the fuselage. The Otter came to rest on the mountainside at an altitude of 2,650 feet. All passengers had been sitting on the right side of the aircraft and the baggage and equipment was stowed on the left side. The pilot and passengers were able to evacuate the Otter and there were no injuries. As they did so the Otter caught fire and burned for 45 minutes, consuming the fuselage. The wings fell to the ground after the wing supports melted. The fire died out after all flammable material was consumed. When radio contact with the Otter was lost, search aircraft were launched and located the crash site. The occupants were spotted at 11:30 and a rescue helicopter arrived at the site at 14:00 and all were rescued. There was however no rescue for the Otter which had been completely destroyed.
Source: http://www.dhc-3archive.com/DHC-3_9.html

The airplane was in cruise flight when the pilot noticed a slight fire smell. The engine began to lose power slowly and would not respond to engine control inputs. The pilot landed on a gravel bar and had to extinguish the fire in the engine accessory case with the fire extinguisher and dirt. The airplane has not been recovered and the engine has not been examined.

While cruising in poor weather conditions, the single engine aircraft was too low, struck tree tops and crashed in a wooded area, bursting into flames. The wreckage was found about 40 km north of Saint-Michel-des-Saints. All three passengers were injured while the pilot was killed.

The pilot was supposed to proceed under VFR mode to the west but as weather conditions deteriorated with low clouds, he decided to continue to the south. While flying between two mountains, the single engine aircraft encountered atmospheric turbulences and the pilot elected to return when the aircraft lost height and struck trees. Upon impact, both wings were torn off and the aircraft crashed in a wooded area. All 11 occupants were injured, four of them seriously.

The pilot reported a substantial loss of power while in cruise flight. He was unable to maintain altitude and the aircraft crashed into trees. An examination of the recently overhauled engine revealed a fractured exhaust rocker arm that caused the loss of power.

The Otter was on a diamond drill move from the Pelly Crossing Airport in the Yukon to a site 45 miles to the east. On board was 2,300 pounds of drill equipment, the pilot and one passenger. The aircraft’s weight with this load and fuel was just under the maximum authorized weight of 8,000 pounds. The Pelly Crossing Airport had a three thousand foot east/west gravel runway, at an elevation of 1,870 feet in mountainous terrain. The pilot departed runway 07 using a reduced power setting and upon becoming airborne he pumped the flaps to the full-up position. The aircraft began to settle towards the trees off the end of the strip. The pilot applied full power and as the aircraft began to settle into the trees closed the throttle. The Otter descended into the trees, burst into flames and was destroyed by a post-impact fire. The pilot was able to egress the aircraft and helped the passenger out. Both received serious burns and other injuries.

The aircraft was on its way from Phoenix to Gustavus, AK, to be delivered to its new operator Glacier Bay Airways. On the leg from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert, while cruising at an altitude of 4,000 feet, the engine exploded and oil spread on the windscreen. The crew ditched the aircraft in the Grenville Channel and was quickly rescued. The aircraft sank and was not recovered.

After departing the floatplane base on a company VFR flight plan, the scheduled commuter flight proceeded northwest along a saltwater strait at a low altitude above water. Two miles northwest of the airport the aircraft entered a snow squall and the pilot attempted a steep turn to reverse course. During the turn the aircraft impacted and sank in 167 feet deep water. Search and rescue efforts were suspended after 4 days.

The Otter, with five occupants on board, was on a charter from its base at Chibougamau to Camp Placer, 206 miles to the north-east. At destination, a sand runway 2,200 feet in length and 100 feet in width had been built on an esker. On either side, there was a 100 foot gradient with a thirty degree slope. The wind speed was twenty knots. According to the operating manual, the wind exceeded the seven knot cross-wind limitation for the aircraft under such conditions. When the tail wheel touched down, the Otter turned nose to the wind, left the runway and came to rest at the bottom of the esker, in a sorry state. The Otter was destroyed in the accident.
Source: Karl E. Hayes