What happened
On 19 August 2013, a Buffalo Airways Ltd. Douglas DC-3C, registered as C-GWIR, was conducting a scheduled passenger service from Yellowknife to Hay River, Northwest Territories. Shortly after departing from Runway 16 at 1708 Mountain Daylight Time, the crew identified a fire originating in the right engine.
In response to the emergency, the flight crew executed an engine shutdown procedure and initiated a low-altitude turn to the right, aiming for Runway 10. During this maneuver, the aircraft collided with a group of trees located southwest of the Runway 10 threshold. The plane subsequently touched down south of the runway with its landing gear in the retracted position. Following the impact, the crew successfully evacuated the aircraft. There were no injuries reported among the 21 passengers or the 3 crew members on board.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the sequence of events following the engine fire and the aircraft's impact with the terrain. Investigators examined the engine failure and the subsequent flight path. It was noted that the 406 MHz emergency locator transmitter failed to activate during the event, and no fire occurred after the aircraft came to a rest.