What happened
On a flight operating under instrument flight rules, a Fairchild Swearingen Metro 23 departed Red Lake, Ontario, at 13:00 CDT, carrying two pilots and one passenger. The aircraft was traveling toward Sioux Lookout and was cleared by the Winnipeg area control centre for an approach when the flight transitioned to visual flight rules. Simultaneously, an Air Sandy Piper Navajo PA-31 departed Sioux Lookout at 13:23, carrying one pilot and four passengers, en route to Red Lake.
At 13:27, the crew of the Fairchild Swearingen Metro 23 contacted the Sioux Lookout Flight Service Station to announce they were canceling their IFR flight plan. One minute later, an emergency locator transmitter signal was detected on emergency frequencies. During this time, a pilot operating a different aircraft, a Beechcraft B-99, reported seeing a bright flare in the sky and observed a fire in a forested area.
Following the detection of the signal, search and rescue teams, including an Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources helicopter, were deployed. Rescuers identified debris and a fuel slick on Lac Seul and confirmed that the Fairchild Swearingen Metro 23 had crashed into the water. The investigation determined that the two aircraft had collided in mid-air. The accident resulted in eight fatalities, as all three occupants of the Bearskin aircraft and all five occupants of the Air Sandy aircraft were killed.
Findings
- The collision occurred at 13:28 during daylight hours.
- The aircraft were operating in visual meteorological conditions at the time of the mid-air collision.