Occurrence
Perimeter Aviation Flight 993 was originally scheduled to depart Winnipeg, Manitoba, for Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, on the morning of December 22, 2012. Several issues, including repairs to the cargo door, caused a four-hour delay. After takeoff, the crew realized they had forgotten key published information for the approach and landing at Sanikiluaq. Rather than return to Winnipeg, the captain radioed the company to obtain most of the required information.
Approach and Landing Attempts
The crew initially planned a straight-in visual approach to land eastbound into the wind on Runway 09 at Sanikiluaq. Weather conditions did not permit this approach. Since there was no published instrument approach procedure for Runway 09, they used the published procedure for Runway 27 and circled around visually to land on Runway 09, as wind favored landing in that direction. However, visibility was insufficient, so they circled a second time, only to lose sight of the runway again.
En route, a weather update revealed that the alternate destination of Kuujjuarapik was no longer feasible. Since the weather was still technically acceptable for landing, the crew decided to continue attempting to land at Sanikiluaq. With increasing pressure to land, there was an increase in stress, workload, frustration, and fatigue, resulting in attentional narrowing and a breakdown in crew communication.
The crew made a second attempt, this time to land westbound on Runway 27. A tailwind increased the aircraft's groundspeed, and they came in too high, too steep, and too fast, sighting the runway later than expected. By the time the captain decided to reject the landing, it was too late, and the aircraft struck the ground. This event is classified as an approach-and-landing accident.