Accident Details
At 2325 central standard time, an Eagle Air Services Piper PA-31-325 Navajo, registration C-GOLM, departed runway 34 at Wollaston Lake, Saskatchewan, on a medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) flight to La Ronge. The flight was arranged by the Wollaston nursing station to transport a patient to a hospital. The patient was accompanied by her mother and a nurse from the nursing station.
Sequence of Events
After takeoff, the aircraft was observed climbing at an unusually shallow angle. Company personnel attempted to contact the pilot by radio but were unsuccessful, prompting a ground search. The aircraft was located approximately five minutes after the accident on the ice- and snow-covered surface of Wollaston Lake, about 0.75 nautical miles from the departure end of the runway and about 1.3 nautical miles from the point where the takeoff roll began.
Injuries and Occupants
The pilot and the patient suffered serious injuries. The other two occupants—the patient's mother and the nurse—sustained minor injuries.
Environmental Conditions
The accident occurred during hours of darkness at latitude 58°6.98'N, longitude 103°10.79'W, at an elevation of 1,300 feet above sea level. The temperature was approximately -25°C.
Probable Cause
After takeoff, the left propeller was likely on its start locks, which, as the airspeed increased, allowed the propeller to overspeed. The pilot was unable to resolve the situation in time to prevent the aircraft from striking the surface of Wollaston Lake. Contributing to the severity of the patient's injuries were the inadequate restraint provided by the stretcher and its restraining strap, the lack of standards regarding stretchers used in aircraft, and the lack of standards as to the operation of MEDEVAC flights.