What happened
On December 7, 1998, an Air Satellite Britten-Norman BN2A-26, registration C-FCVK, departed Baie-Comeau, Quebec, for a scheduled flight to Rimouski. The departure had been delayed by five hours due to severe freezing rain and icing conditions in the region.
Shortly after taking off from Runway 10 at 11:09 EST, the aircraft began a climb at approximately 500 feet above sea level. As the crew entered a cloud layer, the pilot retracted the flaps. This maneuver caused the aircraft to pitch up abruptly and lose stability, with the airspeed dropping to roughly 70 knots. The pilot attempted to level the plane by extending the flaps and pushing the control column down, then initiated a left turn to return to the airport. During this turn, the aircraft rolled sharply to the left and entered a dive, striking the St. Lawrence River approximately 0.5 nautical mile from the shore.
Of the ten people on board, six fatalities occurred. Two passengers died while waiting for rescue, and the co-pilot's body was lost to the river's current. The pilot-in-command and three other passengers sustained serious injuries.