What happened
On 29 March 2016, a Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 (registration N246W) departed from St. Hubert, Quebec, bound for Îles-de-la-Madeleine. The aircraft was carrying a pilot-in-command, one pilot-passenger, and five passengers. Throughout the flight, the crew utilized the autopilot system to manage the aircraft.
As the aircraft approached its destination, the pilot began a descent from approximately 21,000 feet. After receiving clearance for an instrument flight rules approach from the Moncton Area Control Centre, the crew lowered the landing gear and selected approach flaps while roughly 2.7 nautical miles from Runway 07. Shortly after these configuration changes, the autopilot was disengaged. Immediately following the disconnection, the aircraft entered an uncontrolled state, rolling into a steep right bank and descending at high speed. The aircraft struck the ground in a near-level attitude, resulting in 7 fatalities.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the sequence of events leading from the autopilot disconnection to the impact. Investigators examined the aircraft's configuration changes, including the deployment of flaps and landing gear, and the transition from automated to manual flight during the final stages of the approach.