Wikipedia

Draft:Nahanni Air Services Flight 97

Nahanni Air Services Flight 97
A DHC-6 Twin Otter 100, similar to the aircraft involved
Accident
Date9 October 1984 (1984-10-09)
SummaryCollision with a radio tower in low visibility due to pilot error.
Site
Aircraft
Aircraft typeDHC-6 Twin Otter 100
OperatorNahanni Air Services
RegistrationC-FPPL
Flight originNorman Wells Airport, Northwest Territories, Canada
StopoverTulita Airport, Northwest Territories, Canada
DestinationDéline Airport, Northwest Territories, Canada
Occupants7
Passengers6
Crew1
Fatalities7
Survivors0

Nahanni Air Services Flight 97 was a scheduled passenger flight operating from Norman Well airport, to Fort Franklin airport with a stop over in Fort Norman. Whilst on approach in low visibility its right wing clipped a 200 foot radio tower, the aircraft slowly rolled over to the right. Inverting before crashing between two rows of houses, killing all 7 occupants on board. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Background

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Aircraft

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The aircraft involved was a 1968, de Havilland Canada, DHC-6-100 Twin Otter. Serial number 115, registration C-FPPL. It had logged 23 645 flight hours. [1] The Aircraft was powered by two P&W Canada PT6A-20 engines. The aircraft was delivered on September 18th,1984. With it getting its certificate of air worthiness the next day on September 19th, 1984. [1] [7] [8]

Pilot

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The pilot was 48 years old, named Robert Platt. [9] He had been hired by Nahanni Air Services on September 28th, 1984. He previously had been with Kenn Borek Air for 12 years, but his ability to make decisions had been called into question, which led to him being fired on August 31st of 1984.[9] The reasons his abilities had been called into question is that he had 4 accidents since March of 1984, with the last being a ditching of a Twin Otter in the Beaufort Sea after a dual engine failure on August 18th. The dual engine failure was due to water contamination in the fuel, after the pilots did not test it. [1] [10] This aircraft was later repaired but crashed in 1988 with the United States Forestry Service. [11] [12] [13]

The pilot had 13911 flying hours, with 8766 of those being of the Twin Otter. His last pilot proficiency check was successfully completed on 17 June 1984. He had flown for 100 hours in the prior 90 days. He had completed all of his training at Nahanni, including a route check flown on October 1st where the chief pilot pointed out the communications tower that was in the middle of Fort Franklin. The pilot flew into Fort Franklin seven times between October 2 and the day of the accident. [1]

Accident

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On October 9th at 1608 MST the flight took off from Norman Well headed for Fort Franklin with an en-route stop at Fort Norman. While on the approach to Fort Norman it was reported that the pilot had descended very low over the river to maintain visual flight conditions.[1] After landing one male passenger pleaded with the passengers to get off the flight due to the weather conditions.[14] [15] The male passenger deboarded whilst everyone else stayed on board. [1] At 1608 MST the aircraft departed from Fort Norman. At around 1715 the aircraft overflew Fort Franklin, it was not seen but was heard due to the fog obscuring the hamlet. A local resident contacted the pilot on a portable VHF receiver in his home, and advised the pilot about there being little to no visibility in the area. The pilot replied that he believed he would not be able to land. [1] The plane then flew out of hearing range but then returned overhead at least once and was then heard to proceed to the southeast. The resident with the radio had driven to the airstrip by this point and when he heard the aircraft he advised the pilot that the visibility was between 200 and 300 feet. The pilot then asked if the report was for vertical or horizontal visibility.[1] No reply was able to be made as the aircraft then struck a 200 foot communications tower located on the eastern edge of the hamlet with its right wing. The sound was heard by most people on the ground. Eyewitnesses then saw the aircraft emerge from the fog and slowly roll over as it steeply descended. The aircraft crashed between two rows of houses on the edge of the hamlet, instantly killing all 7 occupants on board. [1] [2] [16]

Investigation

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The investigation into the crash revealed a multitude of safety issues at the airfield, and on the flight with the report putting the cause down to pilot error and poor weather causing the aircraft to impact a telecommunications tower. [1] Contributing factors due to the crash were the pilot's history and possible pressure to continue the flight even when the conditions were unsuitable for flight. Another thing that was found was that the map for Fort Franklin had not highlighted the telecommunications tower on it. [1] [2] [8]

Aftermath

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A memorial stands in Déline today, with the names of the 6 passengers on it. A service is held each year on the day of the accident. [17] [18] The runway was later moved further north from the hamlet.

See also

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Wapiti Aviation Flight 402 Another notable accident in Canada around that time. [6]

References

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