What happened
A Douglas DC-3 was performing a ferry flight from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Whitehorse, Yukon, carrying a crew consisting of a captain, a first officer, and an apprentice maintenance engineer. Shortly after departing from runway 08, the aircraft experienced a mechanical issue when the right propeller began to overspeed while the first officer was adjusting engine power. Following the captain's orders, the first officer shut down and feathered the right engine.
After notifying Vancouver tower of the engine failure and the intention to return to the airport via a downwind pattern for runway 08, the aircraft began to lose both airspeed and altitude. Due to the deteriorating flight conditions, the crew informed air traffic control that they would instead attempt to land on runway 30. As the aircraft continued to descend, it narrowly missed several buildings before impacting the ground approximately one mile short of runway 30.
Findings
The accident resulted in three serious injuries among the occupants, including the impact and a subsequent fire. The captain later succumbed to his injuries eight days after the event. The primary factor in the loss of control was the right engine overspeed which led to a critical loss of altitude and airspeed during the return maneuver.