Incident Overview
On an unspecified date, Bearskin flight 362, a Fairchild Swearingen Metro 23, departed Red Lake, Ontario, at 1300 central daylight saving time (CDT) en route to Sioux Lookout on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. The aircraft carried two pilots and one passenger. Meanwhile, Air Sandy flight 3101, a Piper Navajo PA-31, departed Sioux Lookout at 1323 with one pilot and four passengers on a visual flight rules (VFR) flight to Red Lake.
Communications and Sequence of Events
At approximately 30 nautical miles north of Sioux Lookout, Bearskin 362 was cleared by Winnipeg area control centre (ACC) for an approach to Sioux Lookout. The pilot of Air Sandy 3101 reported clear of the Sioux Lookout control zone at 1326, with no further communication from that flight. At 1315, Winnipeg ACC advised the Sioux Lookout Flight Service specialist that Bearskin 362 was inbound, estimating arrival at 1332. At 1327, Bearskin 362 contacted Sioux Lookout Flight Service Station (FSS) to cancel IFR at 14 nautical miles from the airport, having been cleared for the approach.
At 1328, as Sioux Lookout FSS was providing an airport advisory to Bearskin 362, the specialist heard an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal on emergency frequencies. Soon after, the pilot of Bearskin 305, a Beechcraft B-99 in the vicinity, reported seeing a bright flare fall to the ground and a fire in a wooded area. A communications search for Bearskin 362 yielded no response. Search and Rescue aircraft from Trenton, Ontario, and an Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) helicopter were dispatched. The fire source was identified as the Air Sandy aircraft. The MNR helicopter observed debris and a fuel slick on Lac Seul, later confirmed as the crash site of Bearskin 362.
Collision Details
The two aircraft collided in mid-air at 1328 during daylight hours at latitude 50º14'N and longitude 92º07'W, in visual meteorological conditions (VMC). All three persons on the Bearskin aircraft and all five on the Air Sandy aircraft sustained fatal injuries.
Probable Cause
According to the official investigation, neither flight crew saw the other aircraft in time to avoid the collision. Contributing factors included the inherent limitations of the see-and-avoid concept for high closure rates, the lack of direct alerting by the Flight Service specialist or onboard electronic equipment, and an apparent deficiency in pilot understanding of optimal avoidance maneuvering.