What happened
On 19 August 2013, a Douglas DC-3C operated by Buffalo Airways Ltd. was conducting a scheduled passenger service from Yellowknife to Hay River. The aircraft, registered as C-GWIR, departed from Runway 16 at approximately 17:08 Mountain Daylight Time.
Shortly after the aircraft became airborne, the crew identified a fire originating in the right engine. In response to the emergency, the flight crew executed an immediate shutdown of the affected engine. The pilots then initiated a low-altitude turn to the right, attempting to redirect the aircraft toward Runway 10.
During this maneuver, the aircraft collided with a group of trees located southwest of the Runway 10 threshold. The plane subsequently made contact with the ground south of the runway with its landing gear in the retracted position. Following the impact, the crew successfully evacuated the aircraft. There were no injuries reported among the 21 passengers or the 3 crew members on board. No fire occurred following the impact, and the 406 MHz emergency locator transmitter failed to trigger.
Findings
- An engine fire occurred during the initial climb phase.
- The aircraft struck trees during an emergency turn toward the runway.
- The landing gear was not extended at the time of the ground impact.