Winnipeg – Thunder Bay

On October 6, 2005 at 05:43 AM, Winnipeg – Thunder Bay experienced a crash involving Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, operated by Federal Express - FedEx, with the event recorded near Winnipeg Manitoba.

The flight was categorized as cargo and the reported phase was takeoff (climb) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

1 people were known to be on board, 1 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 1, crew fatalities: 1, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is weather. On the day before the occurrence, the accident aircraft arrived in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on a flight from Thunder Bay, Ontario. The aircraft was parked in a heated hangar overnight and was pulled outside at about 0410 central daylight time. The pilot reviewed the weather information and completed planning for the flight, which was estimated to take two hours and six minutes. The aircraft was refuelled and taxied to Apron V at the Winnipeg International Airport, where it was loaded with cargo. After loading was complete, the pilot obtained an instrument flight rules (IFR) clearance for the flight to Thunder Bay, taxied to Runway 36, received take-off clearance, and departed. The aircraft climbed on runway heading for about one minute to an altitude of 1300 feet above sea level (asl), 500 feet above ground level (agl). The flight was cleared to 9000 feet asl direct to Thunder Bay, and the pilot turned on course. The aircraft continued to climb, reaching a maximum altitude of 2400 feet asl about 2.5 minutes after take-off. The aircraft then started a gradual descent averaging about 400 feet per minute (fpm) until it descended below radar coverage. The accident occurred during hours of darkness at 0543. The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service were notified and responded from a nearby station.

Aircraft reference details include registration C-FEXS, MSN 208B-0542, year of manufacture 1996.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 49.8010°, -97.1946°.