What happened
On the night of 17 January, a flight departing from Knob Lake toward Seven Islands via Oreway encountered severe difficulties. The aircraft was carrying fifteen passengers and a crew of three at the time of the incident. During the flight, the crew recorded encountering moderate to heavy rime ice, prompting an increase in altitude to 10,000 feet.
Shortly after this, the navigation logs indicated a significant drop in oil pressure on the starboard engine. Following a warning light activation, the starboard propeller feathered. Although the crew managed to restart the engine for approximately ten minutes, it failed again. As the aircraft lost altitude while operating on a single engine, the pilot attempted to divert back to Oreway. At 0052 hours, the aircraft type crashed into terrain roughly 2,000 feet southeast of the Oreway railway station during the attempt at a forced landing.
The accident resulted in four fatalities, including the captain, the co-pilot, one passenger, and a flight attendant who succumbed to her injuries several days later. Among the survivors, two passengers sustained serious injuries, while others suffered minor wounds.
Findings
Investigations into the crash determined that the aircraft was unable to maintain its flight level due to the failure of the starboard engine while operating in icing conditions. The aircraft was also noted to be heavily loaded at the time of the incident. Furthermore, it was determined that the pilot had departed Knob Lake with a weight exceeding the maximum permitted limit for that specific airfield by 729 lbs.