Skycraft Air Transport

Beechcraft E18

The flight departed and proceeded en route without incident. Radar and radio contact was maintained until the flight proceeded over Lake Erie. The flight did not arrive at its destination. The aircraft is presumed to have crashed in Lake Erie. One identifiable 3 feet x 4 feet section of floor panel was located. Two smaller pieces of wreckage were also found which may have been portions of C-FFLC.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

After landing, the pilot-in-command (pic) placed a refueling order to fill the aircraft's two 210 gallons main tanks for a return flight to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. After the cargo was unloaded and the aircraft was refueled, the aircrew aborted the 1st two attempts to takeoff due to slow aircraft performance. Engine run-ups were performed after each abort and reportedly, the engines checked normal. After the 2nd aborted takeoff, the aircrew called the fbo and requested that the refueler be asked what type of fuel was added. The response was '100LL Avgas.' On the 3rd attempt to depart, the aircraft took off, but both engines lost power as the landing gear was retracted. The aircrew selected a highway on which to land. However, the left wing hit a utility pole, then the aircraft went thru a fence and hit a highway embankment. Investigation revealed that Jet-A fuel had been added to the aircraft rather than 100LL fuel. The truck containing Jet-A fuel looked similar to the one with 100LL Avgas, but was properly designated with fuel grade markings. A pilot was killed, the second was seriously injured.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

A Douglas C-47A cargo plane was destroyed when it crashed while in final approach to Toronto International Airport, ON (YYZ), Canada. Both pilots were killed. Skycraft Air Transport Flight 505 operated on a cargo flight from Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport, OH (CLE), USA. It was loaded with 6 wire mesh baskets, each almost filled with automobile roof bows. On completion of the loading, the crew chief stated he asked the flight crew if they wished the load tied down. They responded by saying they would take care of it. Flight 505 departed Cleveland at 07:45, on a VFR flight plan. The Toronto terminal controller gave a few small heading changes to direct the flight to the instrument landing system (ILS) localizer for an almost straight-in approach to runway 06R, then transferred it to the arrival controller, who continued vectoring the aircraft. During the approach, the arrival controller twice requested Flight 505 to maintain its best speed for spacing from other aircraft. The crew initially reported they were flying their maximum speed, and later indicated they were at their best speed as the aircraft was fairly heavy. Flight 505 called the tower over the outer marker and was cleared to land. After crossing the threshold 100 to 150 ft above the runway, the nose of the aircraft smoothly rose 5 to 10 deg. The nose then dropped an almost equal number of degrees, as if a correction had been made for the nose high attitude. This up, then down pitch movement was quickly followed by two pitch oscillations of increasing speed and magnitude. On the fourth oscillation, the nose continued to rise 45 to 60 deg. and the aircraft started to climb. The engine noise seemed to increase as the aircraft pitched up for the last time. At approximately 200 ft, as the aircraft reached the apex of its climb, the left wing dropped and the aircraft yawed to the left approximately 90 degrees. The wings levelled, then the aircraft fell into the field to the right side of the runway. The time between the beginning of the first oscillation and the impact with the ground is estimated to have been approximately 10 seconds. On impact the right main gear ruptured a fuel tank and a post-impact fuel fire ensued.