Max Aviation - Canada

Beechcraft 100 King Air

The aircraft was operating as flight MAX100 on an instrument flight rules flight from Montmagny to Montreal/St-Hubert, Quebec, with 2 pilots and 4 passengers on board. At approximately 1700 Eastern Daylight Time, the aircraft moved into position on the threshold of 3010-foot-long runway 26 and initiated the take-off. On the rotation, at approximately 100 knots, the flight crew saw numerous birds in the last quarter of the runway. While getting airborne, the aircraft struck the birds and the left engine lost power, causing the aircraft to yaw and roll to the left. The aircraft lost altitude and touched the runway to the left of the centre line and less than 100 feet from the runway end. The take-off was aborted and the aircraft overran the runway, coming to rest in a field 885 feet from the runway end. All occupants evacuated the aircraft via the main door. There were no injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged.

Swearingen SA226AT Merlin IV

The approach to Kuujjuaq-Fort Chimo Airport was stable but slightly below the VASIS descent profile. Just before the flare when power was reduced to idle, the crew was surprised by how rapidly the aircraft decelerated. Touchdown on the runway was hard. After the engines were shut down at the terminal, the crew noted structural deformations around the nose wheel attachment point and on the wings, where the deformations caused fuel to leak. Runway 31 slopes upward 1.3%. The landing was made at twilight, and the runway environment appeared very dark to the crew due to the lack of reflection from the gravel surface.