What happened
On the day of the accident, a de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter was operating a scheduled flight departing from Prince Albert with a destination of Buffalo Narrows. The aircraft had been flying for approximately one hour and forty minutes without any reported issues until it reached an area roughly six miles north of Ile-à-la-Crosse.
During the flight, a loud noise originated from the engine, immediately followed by a total loss of power and smoke entering the cockpit. After the engine failure, the pilot issued a mayday distress call, which was received by another aircraft in the vicinity.
The pilot executed a forced landing into a semi-cleared area within the bush. The aircraft approached the landing site in a nose-high attitude with full flaps extended. While the impact caused damage to the de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter that rendered it a total loss, there were zero fatalities and zero injuries reported among the occupants. Following the touchdown, the pilot and the passenger quickly exited the aircraft due to concerns regarding a potential fire, though no fire occurred. A rescue team located both individuals shortly after the event.
Findings
The investigation determined that the engine failure was caused by the failure of the master rod and link rods.