Yellowknife - Blachford Lake

On June 24, 2005 at 07:12 PM, Yellowknife - Blachford Lake experienced a crash involving De Havilland DHC-3 Otter, operated by Air Tindi, with the event recorded near Yellowknife Northwest Territories.

The flight was categorized as charter/taxi (non scheduled revenue flight) and the reported phase was takeoff (climb) at a lake, sea, ocean, river crash site.

9 people were known to be on board, 0 fatalities were recorded, 9 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 0.0%.

Crew on board: 2, crew fatalities: 0, passengers on board: 7, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The Air Tindi Ltd. de Havilland DHC-3T (Turbo) Otter (registration C-FXUY, serial number 142) water taxied from the Air Tindi dock at Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, for a charter flight to Blachford Lake. The aircraft was loaded with two crew members, seven passengers, and 840 pounds of cargo. Before the flight, the pilot conducted a preflight passenger briefing, which included information about the location of life preservers and emergency exits. During the take-off run, at about 1912 mountain daylight time, the aircraft performed normally. It became airborne at about 55 mph, which is lower than the normal take-off speed of 60 mph. The pilot applied forward control column to counter the pitch-up tendency, but there was no response. He then trimmed the nose forward, but the aircraft continued to pitch up until it stalled at about 50 feet above the water and the left wing dropped. The aircraft struck the water in the East Bay in a nose-down, 45/ left bank attitude. On impact, the left wing and left float detached from the aircraft, and the aircraft came to rest on its left side. The crew was able to evacuate the passengers before the aircraft submerged, and local boaters assisted in the rescue. There were no serious injuries to the crew or passengers. The aircraft suffered substantial damage.

Aircraft reference details include registration C-FXUY, MSN 142, year of manufacture 1956.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 62.4528°, -114.4695°.