Occurrence
On 09 August 2024, a Cessna 337H operated by Sasair Inc. was conducting a visual flight rules (VFR) flight from Deer Lake Airport, Newfoundland and Labrador, to Sydney/J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport, Nova Scotia. The aircraft carried 1 pilot and 3 passengers. It departed shortly after another company aircraft also heading to Nova Scotia.
After traveling approximately 35 nautical miles in a southwesterly direction, the aircraft changed its flight path to fly at a lower altitude in a valley. This manoeuvre resulted in a collision with the rising terrain at the end of the valley. The aircraft was destroyed. There was no post-impact fire. The emergency locator transmitter (ELT) activated, and the pilot of the second aircraft immediately contacted CYDF authorities to report the accident.
One of the passengers was fatally injured, while the pilot and the two other passengers were seriously injured. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is conducting a class 3 investigation into the occurrence.