Canadian regional airline West Wind Aviation has suspended its ATR turboprop operations after 25 passengers and crew were lucky to escape with their lives when their flight crashed shortly after takeoff.
A number of passengers and one crew member sustained serious injuries when the ATR 42 plowed through trees near the northern Saskatchewan community of Fond du Lac on December 13 after taking off from the local airport for a flight to nearby Stony Rapids.
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Local news reports said at least five people were airlifted to hospital but a West Wind official said none of the injuries were life-threatening.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is investigating the incident and sent air investigators and technical experts from its engineering laboratory to the site.
A passenger on the plane told The Canadian Press that it was acting strangely before it crashed.
“The plane was just moving up and down, side by side,” passenger Willie John Laurent said. “The last I remember is it touching the ground. That’s the last I know.”
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The TSB said in a report posted Friday that the aircraft descended into trees and terrain and left a path of wreckage at least 800 feet (244m) long.
It said the left side of the aircraft appeared to have suffered the worst damage and fuselage was ruptured at the third row of seating.
“West Wind has grounded their other ATR aircraft for the time being,’’ the TSB said.
The Canadian investigator said France’s Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'aviation civile, aircraft manufacturer ATR and engine-maker Pratt & Whitney had sent representatives to the site.
It said the investigation would examine components such as instrumentation and devices with memory chips, look at radar information and gather additional weather data.
It would also look at areas such as maintenance and pilot training as well as operational policies and procedures.
West Wind Aviation was established in 1983 and operates chartered and scheduled flights across Saskatchewan.
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