Eastern Provincial Airways - EPA

Safety profile and incident history for Eastern Provincial Airways - EPA.

Safety Score

9.8/10

Total Incidents

10

Total Fatalities

24

Recent Incidents

Avro 748

Sydney-J. A. Douglas McCurdy Nova Scotia

Following a normal landing at Sydney Airport, the crew completed the braking procedure then vacated the runway and was taxiing to the apron when control was lost. The airplane collided with the main terminal building and came to rest. All 18 occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Saint-Pierre All Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Crashed in unknown circumstances while landing at Saint-Pierre Airport. There were no casualties.

March 17, 1965 8 Fatalities

Handley Page HPR-7 Dart Herald

Musquodoboit Nova Scotia

Flight 102 was a scheduled domestic flight from Moncton to Torbay, Newfoundland, with scheduled stops at Summerside, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, New Glasgow, Halifax and Sydney, Nova Scotia, Deer Lake, Gander and Torbay, Newfoundland. It took off from Moncton, New Brunswick at 0635 hours Atlantic Standard Time. The flight was routine as far as Halifax where a 36-minute stopover was made. No aircraft unserviceabilities were reported by the crew during the stopover. The flight departed Halifax for Sydney at 0910 hours. It was cleared to depart runway 33, to turn right and climb on course to an altitude of 13 000 ft via Victor 312 Airway to the Sydney omnirange station. Following take-off, it was requested to report reaching 13 000 ft and this was acknowledged. There was no further communication between the aircraft and Air Traffic Control. At 0915 hours the aircraft contacted the airline's radio facility at Halifax and transmitted flight data as follows: time out 0908 hours and off at 0912 hours along with an estimated time of arrival at Sydney of 0959 hours. This was the last known transmission from the aircraft. No difficulty was reported by the crew. Nineteen witnesses located about three miles north-north-east of the accident site and about 2 miles south-east the centre line of Victor 312 Airway testified that an unusual noise attracted their attention to an aircraft flying on an easterly heading and that the tail unit and, later on, the nose section separated from the aircraft, whereupon it went out of control and crashed 45 to 60 seconds after. The time of the accident was calculated to be approximately 0922 hours. The aircraft was destroyed and all eight occupants were killed.

Douglas DC-3

Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon Quebec

On final approach, the airplane was too low and struck the ground short of runway threshold. It continued for several yards, causing the right propeller to struck the ground as well. It flew for several hundred yards before crashing 1,400 meters past the runway end. All four occupants were injured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

May 12, 1962 15 Fatalities

Canadian Vickers PBV-1 Canso (OA-10 Canso)

Nuuk (Godthåb) Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq

Following an uneventful flight from Sondreströmfjord, the crew started the descent to Nuuk and the landing was made on a water area that had not been patrolled. This was contrary to current safety rules. Both pilots considered the touchdown was normal. However, after a run of a few seconds the aircraft swerved abruptly to starboard assuming an increasingly nose-down attitude. A steadily progressing but very quick deceleration took place. The seaplane plunged into water and came to rest, partially submerged. While all three crew members and three passengers were rescued, 15 passengers were drowned.

August 29, 1961 1 Fatalities

De Havilland DHC-3 Otter

Sondreströmfjord (Kangerlussuaq) Qeqqata Kommunia

Few minutes after takeoff from Søndre Strømfjord Airport, en route for Egedesminde (Aasiaat), the aircraft caught fire. The crew reduced his altitude and attempted an emergency landing when the airplane crashed. A crew member was killed while five other occupants were injured, some of them seriously. The aircraft was destroyed.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Saint-Pierre All Saint Pierre and Miquelon

During the takeoff roll at Saint-Pierre Airport, the left main gear collapsed. The pilot-in-command abandoned he takeoff procedure but the aircraft overran and came to rest into a ravine. Five passengers were slightly injured while all other occupants escaped unhurt. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina

Sona Lake Newfoundland & Labrador

The ‘flying boat’ started her return trip after delivering fuel on Oct. 1, 1957 to an isolated communications site at Sona Lake. Her three-man crew had been watching dusk overtake the vast Labrador wilderness when, suddenly, about 80 kilometers from her destination, both engines began losing power. The port engine rapidly gave out. Distress calls were sent. The pilots desperately tried to nurse his other still serviceable – but fading – engine long enough to reach a large lake he had seen below. The power plant failed, however, and a landing in the trees became inevitable. The big amphibian mushed through treetops, bounced off a marsh, then struggled briefly back into the air until her starboard wing struck a small copse of pines. The aircraft slewed around in a violent about-face the left the shaken but unhurt crew sighting along the path from which they’d come. The crew was reached the following day by a rescue float plane and soon the investigation team arrived to assess the Canso. Her leading edge was chopped by the trees, her hull was wrinkled and her props were bent. The last ground loop had bent her port wing tip and cracked her spar. The aircraft was written off. Her cockpit was stripped and she was left to the wilderness. For almost three decades she lay in the bush – her paint work fading and her huge fabric surfaces slowly deteriorating. Source & photo: https://atlanticcanadaaviationmuseum.wordpress.com/2009/12/20/the-story-of-our-pby-5a-canso/

Noorduyn Norseman

Saint Anthony Newfoundland & Labrador

While taking off from the harbor of Saint Anthony, the single engine aircraft went through the ice and came to rest partially submerged. All occupants evacuated safely while the aircraft was considered as damaged beyond repair.

Avro 652 Anson

Millertown Junction Newfoundland & Labrador

Upon landing on an icy lake located near Millertown Junction, the twin engine aircraft went through the ice and sank. Both crew members were injured and the aircraft was lost.

Airline Information

Country of Origin

Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Risk Level

Low Risk

Common Aircraft in Incidents

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)2
Noorduyn Norseman1
Handley Page HPR-7 Dart Herald1
Douglas DC-31
De Havilland DHC-3 Otter1
Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina1
Canadian Vickers PBV-1 Canso (OA-10 Canso)1
Avro 7481
Avro 652 Anson1