What happened
On the date of the incident, an aircraft operating as Tanker 3 departed from Loon River Airport. The flight was conducting a firefighting mission directed toward La Biche Lake. During the return leg of the mission, the aircraft was performing a final approach to runway 25 at Grand Prairie Airport.
While in the landing phase, both engines of the aircraft type failed nearly at the same time. In response to the loss of power, the pilot attempted to execute an emergency landing. However, the aircraft struck the ground approximately 3 km before reaching the runway threshold. The impact resulted in the aircraft being damaged beyond repair and caused one injury to the pilot, who was the only person on board at the time of the accident.
Findings
- The primary factor in the accident was the simultaneous failure of both engines during the approach to the runway.