Quebec

While flying at low height on a fire fighting mission, Tanker 236 struck tree tops, rolled to the right and crashed in a wooded area. Both pilots were killed.

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.

After takeoff from Lake Auxillon, the single engine airplane encountered difficulties to gain height, struck trees on the shore and crashed. Both occupants were killed.

After touchdown, the crew lost control of the airplane that veered off runway, struck a ditch and came to rest. All 13 occupants evacuated safely while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

A Douglas C-118A (DC-6A) fire fighting plane was destroyed in an accident near Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, QC, Canada. All four crew members were killed. The Conifair plane took off from Bonaventure Airport, QC (YVB) at 19:15 for a spray operation 30 miles southeast of Sainte-Anne-des-Monts. This was to be the last spraying flight of the season out of the Bonaventure base. A crew of four was on board, including two flight engineers who were on a familiarization training flight. The aircraft was carrying 2,952 U.S. gallons of Dipel 132, a non-toxic microbial insecticide. The aircraft arrived over the spray area at 19:35. An inertial navigation system (INS) to follow pre-established spraying tracks. The first track was sprayed uneventfully. At the end of the first track, the aircraft made a 180-degree turn to spray the second track, which was parallel to and about 800 feet northeast of the first track. This meant that the aircraft had to fly from a valley at an elevation of 1,000 feet above sea level (asl) up a mountain consisting of two levels. The first level is about 1,800 feet asl and about 3,280 feet along the flight path. After the first level, the terrain rose within approximately 1,000 feet along the flight path, to the summit of the mountain at an elevation of 2,175 feet asl. The two occupants of a Cessna 310 spotter aircraft observed a decrease of the DC-6A ground speed during the climb over the first level of the mountain. They then noticed that the aircraft yawed and started a steep, left turn. The spotter crew stated that, shortly after the start of the left turn, the DC-6A left wing began to strike trees. The aircraft nosed down, crashed on the side of the mountain, and exploded at an elevation of 2,050 feet asl.

The twin engine aircraft was completing a charter flight from Quebec City to Bonaventure, carrying five passengers and one pilot. Just before noon, while cruising in poor visibility due to low clouds, the aircraft struck trees, stalled and crashed in a wooded area located on Mt Saint-Joseph, about 4 km north of Carleton. The pilot was killed instantly and all five passengers were injured, three of them seriously. Both passengers who were slightly injured decided to walk away to find help and walked for about 7 hours before reaching Carleton. Rescue teams arrived on scene the next morning to evacuate the last three passengers.

A DC-3C, registration C-FBZN, owned by Transfair was destroyed in an accident shortly after take off from the La Grande-LG-4 airstrip, QC. Both crew members were fatally injured. The system used for de-icing the wings on the ground was available at the airport, but it was not used. A broom was used to remove snow and ice from the wings. The airplane departed with some ice still present on the wings. The airplane took off at 06:35 for a visual flight rules (VFR) charter flight to Lac Bienville, QC. The aircraft, with two crew members, was transporting drums of kerosene (Jet B) for a Hydro-Quebec contractor. An eye witness said that the takeoff from runway 10 was normal and that the pilot initiated a left turn at low altitude immediately after the landing gear was retracted. But shortly after takeoff the crankshaft of the left engine failed between the two banks of cylinders. The rear section of the engine continued to operate because it was still connected to its key accessories, including the magnetos; however, its power could not be transmitted to the propeller. The tachometer, which was also mounted on the rear section of the engine, was still providing an engine rpm reading. The failure of the crankshaft caused the front part of the engine to misfire, and the pistons were no longer synchronized with the ignition timing of the magnetos. This seriously disrupted engine operation and caused a rapid decay of rpm in the front section of the engine, which drives the propeller governor. The propeller governor regulates propeller rpm by adjusting the blade pitch angle, thus maintaining the selected rpm despite variations in engine power. When the propeller governor detected a decrease in engine power, it adjusted the blades to a lower pitch angle to reduce the torque required to maintain rpm. The additional drag generated by the left propeller operating at a low pitch angle was further aggravated by the requirement for more power to windmill the propeller, as it was affected by the resistance created by the erratic functioning of the cylinder bank with which it was engaged. The crew may not have recognized the engine failure and was not able to feather the left propeller in time. A left hand turn was initiated in an attempt to return for a landing. While the pilot was trying to maintain the aircraft in flight, its critical angle of attack was probably exceeded, and the aircraft stalled in the turn.

While approaching Waskaganish Airport, the crew encountered bad weather conditions and due to poor visibility, the captain initiated a go-around. During the next minutes, three other attempts to land were abandoned. During the fifth attempt to land, the aircraft descended too low and crashed short of runway 06 threshold. All three crew members were injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

The twin engine aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances near Lake Larouche. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

Crashed in unknown circumstances somewhere in Quebec. There were no casualties.