Short SC.7 Skyvan Variant

Arctic Circle Air Service

The airline transport pilot was departing in a twin engine turboprop airplane on a ferry flight from a remote lodge airstrip that was about 1,000 feet long and 40 feet wide. The airplane had previously received substantial damage to the nose wheel assembly on a previous flight to the airstrip. Repairs were made to the airframe, and the pilot was departing for a maintenance facility. The pilot had flown in and out of the airstrip on numerous occasions, but not in the accident type airplane. The lodge owner reported that the pilot started both engines and taxied the length of the airstrip, stopping momentarily several times. The pilot ran the engines for about 20 minutes, and then began a takeoff to the south. The airplane appeared to accelerate and remain on the centerline of the airstrip, but did not liftoff until the very end of the airstrip. The owner did not notice any unusual sounds or appearance of the engines. After liftoff, the wheels of the airplane struck and broke off the tops of trees and shrubs, that were about 6 to 7 feet above the ground. The airplane immediately veered to the right, and went out of the lodge owner's sight, but he continued to hear the airplane hitting trees until final impact. The airplane crashed in a shallow lake, coming to rest about 300 feet from shore, in about 5 feet of water. The entire cockpit area, forward of the wings, was torn off the airframe. The validity of any postaccident cockpit and instrument findings was unreliable due to the extensive damage to the cockpit. Likewise, structural damage to the airframe precluded determining wing flap settings during takeoff. Performance calculations indicated that the airplane's takeoff distance would have been about 950 feet, although the lodge owner said that in his experience, the accident airplane was capable of lifting off about half way down the airstrip without difficulty. The circumstances of the takeoff indicated that the left engine had been producing sufficient power to chop through several trees during the crash. Testing and inspection of the right engine was inconclusive, and although it was run on a test stand at reduced power, full power could not be attained due to ingestion of foreign material during the test run.

Trans Guyana Airways

One minute after takeoff from Georgetown-Ogle Airport runway 24, the pilot declared an emergency after an engine failed. He elected to return for an emergency landing but eventually attempted to land in a sugarcane field when the aircraft crashed near the airport. Five people were seriously injured while two others were killed.

Summit Air Charters

At 1108 mountain daylight time on 08 October 2000, the Summit Air Charter's Short Brothers SC-7 Skyvan, serial number SH1953, departed on a visual flight rules six-hour flight from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, to Kugluktuk, Nunavut, to Port Radium, Northwest Territories, and back to Yellowknife. The flight plan indicated a one-hour stop in Kugluktuk, with an estimated time of arrival at Yellowknife of 1710. The pilot-in-command was the chief pilot of Summit Air Charters Ltd. A cargo handler, who was also a pilot, was in the co-pilot's seat, and there was one passenger. When the aircraft failed to arrive at Yellowknife, Search and Rescue (SAR) were alerted and a search was begun. At 2202 SAR personnel confirmed that the SAR satellite was picking up an emergency locator transmitter signal in the vicinity of Port Radium. SAR aircraft were directed to the signal location and found the signal source but were not able to see the wreckage because of fog and freezing rain. The wreckage was found at 1309 the following day. The aircraft had struck the top of steeply rising hills along the east shore of Great Bear Lake, approximately 2.9 nautical miles northeast of the Port Radium airstrip. The crash site is approximately 440 feet above the lake surface and 250 feet above the airstrip elevation (see Appendix A). The aircraft was destroyed, and the three persons on board were fatally injured.

Nepalese Army

During the takeoff roll on runway 20, the aircraft started to skid. Halfway down, the crew decided to abandon the takeoff procedure but the aircraft was unable to stop within the remaining distance. It overran and came to rest in a ravine. Both pilots escaped uninjured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. Weather conditions were good at the time of the accident with an OAT of 18° C. and light wind. The Surkhet Airport runway 20/02 is grass and is 3,400 feet long. It was reported that at the time of the accident, the turf was quit high and wet due to the morning dew which was considered as a contributing factor.

Pink Aviation Services

After takeoff from runway 25 at Zell am See Airport, the aircraft started to roll left and right. It banked right to an angle of 40° then stalled and crashed in an open field near the airport. All 21 occupants were rescued, among them eight were injured. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair after the undercarriage and both wings were torn off upon impact.

Mexican Air Force - Fuerza Aérea Mexicana

The twin engine aircraft departed Mexico City-Benito Juárez Airport on a liaison flight to Tuxtla Gutiérrez, carrying four people. While cruising at an altitude of 18,200 feet in good weather conditions on airway V22, the aircraft struck the slope of the Orizaba Peak. The wreckage was found at the altitude of 5,547 metres and all four occupants were killed. The aircraft had also the civil registration XC-UTQ.

Arctic Circle Air Service

The pilot of Cessna 207A, N800GA, was returning to his company base, passing about 2 miles north of a remote airstrip that was along the route of flight. The airstrip did not have any control tower. [Communications around an uncontrolled airport are conducted on a common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF)]. The pilot of a Short SC7, N451SA, announced his departure from the same airstrip on the CTAF, and took off in a northerly direction. He then began a climbing right turn toward the same destination as the Cessna 207A was proceeding. The two airplanes collided in mid-air, about 1.49 nautical miles east-northeast of the airstrip, which was about 18.3 miles west of their destination. They were observed spiraling downward from about 800 ft above the ground. Both airplanes were found lying flat and upright on a frozen lake, entangled together at the accident site. The Cessna's burned wreckage was lying on top of (and positioned toward the aft third of) the burned wreckage of the Short SC7.

North Star Air Cargo

The pilot had flown this route in make and model airplane for nearly 4 years. He calculated 900 pounds of fuel were required for the flight, and saw 956 pounds on the fuel totalizer. The pilot was told by the ground controller of weather delays to his destination that ranged up to 2.5 hours. En route he was issued holding instructions with an EFC of 50 minutes later. After released from holding, 52 minutes after takeoff, the pilot was told that he was being vectored for a 35 mile final approach. The pilot then told the controller that he was fuel critical and the controller vectored him ahead of other airplanes. Ten minutes later, 84 minutes after takeoff, the controller asked his fuel status, and the pilot responded 'pretty low, seems like I'm losing oil pressure.' The pilot then advised the controller, 85 minutes after takeoff, that he shut down the right engine. He then declared an emergency and advised that he was not going to make the airport. Examination of the wreckage revealed the fuel tanks were intact, the fuel caps were secured, and the amount of fuel recovered from both tanks was 1.5 gallons, which was less than the specified unusable quantity. Company records showed that similar flights took about 48 minutes, and the airplane's average fuel flow was 580 pounds per hour.