Accident Overview
On 11 January 1995, at 0035 Pacific standard time, a Learjet 35 departed Vancouver International Airport, British Columbia, on a night instrument flight rules (IFR) medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) flight to the Masset aerodrome on the northern end of the Queen Charlotte Islands. The aircraft carried a flight crew of two pilots and a medical team comprising two attendants and a doctor. The mission was to evacuate a patient from Masset to Prince Rupert for treatment, after which the aircraft would return to Vancouver.
Flight and Crew
The flight-planned route was at flight level 390, direct to Sandspit then direct to Masset. Following routine communications with Air Traffic Services (ATS), at about 0144, the aircraft reported "outbound" from the Masset non-directional beacon (NDB) on the published NDB "A" instrument approach procedure to runway 12. Air Traffic Control (ATC) radar, situated near Sandspit, tracked the aircraft as it flew the approach.
Accident Sequence
Radar data shows that the aircraft began a descent about 10 seconds after completing the procedure turn and establishing on the final inbound approach track. Forty-three seconds later, at a point 8.8 nautical miles from the threshold of runway 12 on the final inbound track, the aircraft disappeared from radar. The accident occurred at latitude 54°08'N and longitude 131°58'W, at about 0149 Pacific standard time, during the hours of darkness in unknown weather conditions.
Wreckage and Search
Department of National Defence Search and Rescue aircraft began searching shortly after the aircraft was declared missing, later assisted by other private and military aircraft and vessels. On the second day of the search, flotsam from the aircraft was found in the area. Extensive underwater searching using sonar and cameras located the aircraft wreckage on 31 January 1995, in 260 feet of water near the last known position. The aircraft was destroyed. Bodies of two occupants were found several days after the accident; the other three occupants have not been found and are presumed to have been fatally injured.
Probable Cause
The official probable cause, as stated in the investigation, is: The crew most likely conducted the instrument approach with reference to an unintentionally mis-set altimeter of 30.17 in. Hg, and unknowingly flew the aircraft into the water. The circumstances leading to the incorrect altimeter setting could not be determined, nor was it determined why the crew did not detect the mis-set altimeter.