What happened
A twin-engine aircraft was conducting an ambulance mission traveling from Grande Prairie toward its home base in Fort Vermilion. The flight was transporting a medical team consisting of two pilots, a doctor, and an accompanist, along with one patient.
During the final approach phase of the flight, the aircraft maintained an excessive altitude. This resulted in a heavy touchdown on the runway. The impact caused the right main landing gear to collapse immediately upon contact with the ground. Following the gear failure, the aircraft drifted off the right side of the runway before coming to a complete stop.
Findings
- All five occupants successfully evacuated the aircraft without injury.
- The twin engine aircraft sustained damage that rendered it a total loss.
- The primary factor in the accident was the excessive altitude during final approach, which led to the hard landing and subsequent structural failure of the landing gear.