Incident Overview
Description
A ski-equipped de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 aircraft sustained substantial damage in an accident on the ice 168 km N of Alert, Ellesmere Island, NU, Canada. The aircraft had two crew and three scientists on board for a survey mission. The flight crew performed a ski drag and landed on the second approach. Once the aircraft was stopped, the right landing gear broke through the ice while both engines were running. The right engine hit the ice under power. Both engines were then shut down. The captain called on the HF radio for rescue while the first officer initiated evacuation of the passengers, the recovery of the survival gear and the activation of the Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT). All the occupants moved away from the broken ice surface. A camp was set up and communication was made via Sat phone with Resolute Bay base. Two hours later a Bell 407 helicopter arrived to evacuate all the occupants to Alert. There were no injuries. The aircraft fuselage was last seen submerged up to the wings, tail high.
Primary Cause
Ice conditions and landing gear failure during a ski drag operation.Ice conditions and landing gear failure during a ski drag operation.Share on:
