Incident Overview

Date: Monday 24 April 1995
Aircraft Type: Canadair CC-144A Challenger 601
Owner/operator: Canadian Armed Forces
Registration Number: 144613
Location: Halifax-Canadian Forces Base Shearwater, NS (YAW) – ÿ Canada
Phase of Flight: Landing
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4
Component Affected: Right main gear, right hand main gear trunnion structure, right engine, fuel line.Right main gear, right hand main gear trunnion structure, right engine, fuel line.
Category: Accident
A Canadair CC-144A Challenger 601 jet experienced a catastrophic landing accident at Halifax-Canadian Forces Base Shearwater, NS. The aircraft was operated by the Canadian Armed Forces during a crew training flight. During a flapless landing, the pilot attempted to correct a high flap setting, resulting in excessive flare and a subsequent downward landing. The aircraft then entered a holding pattern, and a sudden loss of power and fire in the right wheel well followed. The crew executed a go-around and slid off the runway, escaping the aircraft before a significant explosion in the fuel tank.A Canadair CC-144A Challenger 601 jet experienced a catastrophic landing accident at Halifax-Canadian Forces Base Shearwater, NS. The aircraft was operated by the Canadian Armed Forces during a crew training flight. During a flapless landing, the pilot attempted to correct a high flap setting, resulting in excessive flare and a subsequent downward landing. The aircraft then entered a holding pattern, and a sudden loss of power and fire in the right wheel well followed. The crew executed a go-around and slid off the runway, escaping the aircraft before a significant explosion in the fuel tank.

Description

A Canadair CC-144A Challenger 601 jet was damaged beyond repair in a landing accident at Halifax-Canadian Forces Base Shearwater, NS (YAW) in Canada. The aircraft was operated by the Canadian Armed Forces on a crew training flight. During a flapless landing the aircraft was flared too high and the pilot then put the nose down in an attempt to correct the situation. As a result the aircraft touched down very hard, bounced and began to porpoise. The pilot carried out a go-around. It appeared the right hand main gear was damaged in the bounced landing and the airplane entered a holding pattern. After about 40 minutes in the holding pattern, the right main undercarriage suddenly fell away. This was quickly followed by a total loss of power on the right engine and an intense fire in the general area of the right wheel well. The crew immediately directed the plane to Shearwater for an emergency landing. The aircraft landed safely but slid off the side of the runway. The crew were able to exit the aircraft before an explosion occurred in the centre section fuel tank. During the first landing attempt the right undercarriage trunnion structure had been damaged and the undercarriage had broken away to hang from a hydraulic actuator and its associated hydraulic line. This hydraulic line passed over a fuel line near the wheel well transferring the weight of the undercarriage onto the fuel line. After a while the fuel line had failed followed by the hydraulic line and the undercarriage had then fallen free. The failure of the fuel line resulted in the right engine being starved of fuel while leaking fuel, streaming from the rupture, ignited causing the massive fire.

Primary Cause

Excessive flare during a flapless landing, leading to a downward landing and subsequent loss of control.Excessive flare during a flapless landing, leading to a downward landing and subsequent loss of control.

Share on:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *