Québecair

Shortly after liftoff from Quebec-Ancienne Lorette Airport, en route to Montreal-Dorval Airport, the right engine caught fire. The captain contacted ATC, declared an emergency and was cleared to return for an emergency landing. He initiated a turn to the right when the airplane lost height, struck the ground and crashed in flames about 1,300 meters short of runway. Seven passengers were seriously injured while 17 other occupants were killed.

On approach to Hewanorra Airport on a charter flight from Toronto, the crew encountered windshear conditions. The airplane remained stable and while passing over the runway threshold, the copilot retarded the throttles when, at a height of six meters, the airplane stalled and struck the runway surface. The nose gear was torn off and the airplane slid for about 700 meters before coming to rest. All 171 occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

At approximately 1436 hours Atlantic Standard Time on 16 January the aircraft took off on a non-scheduled flight from Mont Joli, Quebec, to Knob Lake via Seven Islands and arrived at Knob Lake at 2002 hours. At 2202 hours on 17 January the aircraft took off from Knob Lake on the return flight to Seven Islands via Oreway, Labrador, with a crew of three and fifteen passengers on board, The flight appears to have been normal until 2312 hours at which time, according to the navigation log, heavy to moderate rime ice was encountered and the aircraft was climbed to 10 000 feet. At 2335 hours a further note was made in the log that the oil pressure on the starboard engine had dropped to 40 pounds (per square inch) and that at 2336 hours the warning light came on and the starboard propeller was feathered. According to a statement obtained from one of the passengers and the declaration of the stewardess, the engine was subsequently restarted for about ten minutes and then stopped again. The aircraft gradually lost height on one engine and due to the hills ahead the captain decided to return to Oreway. At 0052 the aircraft crashed to the ground about 2 000 feet southeast of Oreway railway station, while a forced landing was being attempted. The captain, co-pilot and one passenger died in the accident and the stewardess died of injuries a few days later; two passengers were seriously injured and some of the remaining passengers received minor injuries.