Yellowknife – Fort Saint John

On December 22, 2010 at 01:50 PM, Yellowknife – Fort Saint John experienced a crash involving Piper PA-61 Aerostar (Ted Smith 601), operated by 5583 N.W.T., with the event recorded near Falaise Lake Northwest Territories.

The flight was categorized as private and the reported phase was flight at a lake, sea, ocean, river crash site.

1 people were known to be on board, 0 fatalities were recorded, 1 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 0.0%.

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

The listed crash cause is technical failure. The twin engine aircraft was en route from Yellowknife, NT to Fort St. John, BC. The pilot noticed fumes and smoke coming from behind the rear cabin wall. The cabin was depressurized and the door opened to clear the smoke. A forced landing was conducted onto the frozen surface of Falaise Lake, NT. The pilot immediately egressed, however, the aircraft was soon engulfed in flames and was completely consumed. The pilot was not injured and was flown out by helicopter.

Aircraft reference details include registration C-FMLI, MSN 61-0589-7963259, year of manufacture 1979.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 61.4680°, -116.2425°.