What happened
On a morning flight departing from Abbotsford Airport in British Columbia, a Cessna 208 Caravan operated by Seair experienced a loss of control during its initial climb. The aircraft, which was performing the first leg of a private journey to the Bahamas, departed from runway 19 at approximately 09:16 Pacific standard time. The flight was carrying a total of six people, including the pilot and five passengers.
Roughly one minute after departure, while the aircraft was climbing through an altitude of approximately 400 feet, the pilot began retracting the flaps from 10 degrees to the zero-degree position. During this maneuver, the aircraft became unmanageable, banking sharply to the left and descending quickly. The aircraft struck a field located about one-half mile south of the runway threshold. The impact occurred while the aircraft was in a left bank with a pitch attitude that was nearly level. The wreckage of the aircraft was destroyed in the crash, though no fire was reported at the scene.
Findings
As the aircraft was climbing, the retraction of flaps during the transition from 10 to zero degrees coincided with the loss of control. The accident occurred under daylight visual meteorological conditions. The incident resulted in one pilot with serious injuries, two passengers with serious injuries, and three passengers with minor injuries.