Mid-air collision over Kenora involving two Norseman aircraft (CF-BZM)

Incident Overview and Aircraft Involved On the day of the accident, two aircraft were involved in a mid-air collision over Kenora, Ontario. The first aircraft was a Norseman IV registered CF-BZM, which had taken off from Malachi, Ontario, at 1005LT on a non-scheduled flight bound for Kenora. It carried a pilot and three passengers. The second aircraft was a Norseman VI registered CF-IRH, which departed from Bell Lake, Ontario, on a non-scheduled flight with a pilot and seven passengers on board. ## Sequence of Events At approximately 1020LT, CF-BZM arrived over Keewatin, about two miles west of Kenora, at an altitude of 1,500 feet. The aircraft began a routine left-hand circuit, descending on the downwind leg to 1,000 feet. It turned at 800 feet into a west-northwest wind and descended at a rate of 500 to 700 feet per minute. At about 20 feet above the water, the pilot observed a red and yellow flash on the right wingtip and heard a loud noise. The aircraft went out of control, rolled to the left and then to the right, and crashed into the lake in a slightly nose-down attitude. It swung 200 degrees and came to rest facing south, about 60 feet from the other aircraft. At about the same time, CF-IRH arrived in the vicinity of Kenora and turned onto the final leg of its approach to land, approximately 1.5 miles from the selected landing area. The pilot made a straight power-on approach for about one mile. When the aircraft was about 20 feet above the water, the pilot looked out the left window, saw the streamlined portion of another aircraft's wingtip, and heard the noise of the impact. CF-IRH went out of control, struck the water, bounced about 25 feet, dived into the water, and turned over. ## Damage and Injuries CF-BZM was destroyed, while CF-IRH was substantially damaged. No fatalities occurred, but one passenger aboard CF-IRH was seriously injured.