What happened
On a scheduled flight from Goose Bay International Airport to Gander International Airport, the Air Canada Express flight EV7804 experienced an incident during the landing phase. The aircraft, a Beechcraft 1900D with registration C-FEVA, was approaching Runway 03 under night conditions. Upon touchdown, the aircraft landed to the right of the runway centerline and immediately drifted further to the right.
During this excursion, the nosewheel made contact with a compacted snow windrow located on the runway. This impact caused the nose landing gear to collapse. As the nose of the plane descended, the propeller blades made contact with the runway surface and the snow. This contact resulted in the separation of several propeller blades at the root, including all blades from the left propeller and three blades from the right propeller. One piece of a right-side propeller blade pierced the cabin wall.
The aircraft eventually came to a halt on the runway. All 16 occupants (consisting of 14 passengers and 2 crew members) were successfully evacuated from the plane. While there was no fire following the impact, 3 passengers were treated for minor injuries. The aircraft sustained substantial damage during the event.
Findings
- The nose landing gear collapsed after the aircraft struck a snow windrow on the runway.
- The impact with the snow and runway surface caused significant propeller blade separation.
- The emergency locator transmitter failed to activate because the forward impact forces were not strong enough to trigger the device.