Arctic Sunwest Charters
De Havilland DHC–6–300 Twin Otter, C-GARW
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
22 September 2011
The float-equipped de Havilland DHC-6-300 Twin Otter (registration C GARW, serial number 367) was landing at the float-plane base (CEN9) located in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, along the western shore of Great Slave Lake, beside the area known as Old Town. There were 2 crew members and 7 passengers on board, and the first officer was the pilot flying. On touchdown, the aircraft bounced, porpoised and landed hard on the right float. The flight crew initiated a go-around; the aircraft lifted off at low speed in a nose-high, right-wing-low attitude, and it continued in a right turn towards the shore. As the turn continued, the aircraft's right wing contacted power lines and cables before the float bottoms impacted the side of an office building. The aircraft then dropped to the ground on its nose and cart-wheeled into an adjacent parking lot. Both crew members were fatally injured, 4 passengers were seriously injured, and 3 passengers sustained minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The 406 megahertz emergency locator transmitter activated. There was no fire. The accident occurred at 1318 Mountain Daylight Time.
http://www.bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/2011/a11w0144/a11w0144.asp
http://www.flickr.com/photo C-GARW
http://www.flickr.com/photo C-GARW
Master Corporal Nicole Stacey (centre-left) presents the Chief of Defence Staff General Walt Natynczyk with a painting of the Yellowknife skyline at night, earlier this year. Stacey was killed in a Yellowknife plane crash Thursday. (www.forces.gc.ca)
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Nicole Stacey is pictured in this undated handout photo. The coroner of the Northwest Territories has released the names of the two people who were killed in a dramatic plane crash on a Yellowknife street. The pilot was 36-year-old Trevor Jonasson and his 26-year-old co-pilot was Nicole Stacey, both from Yellowknife.
(DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE HANDOUT)
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(DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE HANDOUT)
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Rescue workers look over the wreckage of a Twin Otter airplane that crashed into a building in Yellowknife September 22, 2011. Two people were killed in the accident.
Rescue workers look over the wreckage of a Twin Otter airplane that crashed into a building in Yellowknife September 22, 2011. Two people were killed in the accident.
An RCMP officer inspects the Arctic Sunwest plane that crashed in Yellowknife, NWT, claiming the lives of two people and injuring seven others Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011.
(James Mackenzie / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Rescue workers look over the wreckage of a Twin Otter airplane that crashed into a building in Yellowknife September 22, 2011. Two people were killed in the accident.
Photograph by: John Doody, For Postmedia News
RCMP Officers inspect the wreckage of an Arctic Sunwest plane crash that claimed the lives of two people and injured seven others in Yellowknife, NWT, Thursday September 22, 2011.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/James Mackenzie
YELLOWKNIFE - One of the pilots killed in a dramatic plane crash on a Yellowknife street is being remembered as a vivacious and adventurous young woman — a military reservist who was the third generation in a family of aviators.
"It's part of her life, really, to fly," Nicole Stacey's uncle, Greg Stacey, said Friday.
The young woman, who was 26, and her 36-year-old fellow pilot Trevor Jonasson were killed Thursday when their float-equipped Twin Otter plane crashed during an attempt to land on Great Slave Lake. The aircraft slid between two buildings in the northern capital's Old Town area.
Seven passengers were injured, two of them seriously.
Stacey is survived by her parents, two brothers and a sister. Jonasson and his wife had no children.
Stacey's family is full of pilots, said her uncle. Her father, Frank, is a pilot, as is one of her cousins. Her grandfather took out a pilot's licence at age 65, although he no longer flies.
She was even part of Prince William and Kate's tour of the North earlier this year, though she didn't fly the royals themselves.
Stacey's childhood was spent in the North.
"She grew up there and she's got a lot of family there," Greg Stacey said. "It's basically home." She was "a bright, adventurous girl," who was in the army reserves all through high school.
Aaliyah Adam met her friend Nicole in Grade 6 in Yellowknife and the two stayed close.
"She was always interested in what her dad was doing — she thought he was the coolest guy for being a pilot. She really looked up to him for that," said Adam.
It was no surprise to Adam when her friend decided she wanted to fly, too.
"She was always full of adventure. Everything she did revolved around adventure. She was just so full of life it was natural for her to do something so daring and adventurous."
Stacey brought the same attitude to everything, including the sports of soccer and basketball.
"She just made it her game in some way," said Adam. "She brought such an energy to whatever she was doing.
"She was kind of a tomboy, but the prettiest girl with the nicest smile.
"She was such a happy person, you always wanted to be around her. Everyone was drawn to her — there wasn't one group of people in Yellowknife that she wasn't friends with.
"I always remember her smile and her laugh. She had this kind of cackle that just infected everyone."
Stacey had reached the rank of master corporal in the military. She was serving as a recruit instructor with Yellowknife Company, a reserve unit within 41 Canadian Brigade Group and the first such unit the army has ever established in the North.
"She was an ideal person for the unit," said commanding officer Capt. Conrad Schubert. "Nicole was the finest representative for the Yellowknife Company and the Canadian Forces we could have wanted and will be remember for her humour, her intelligence and her great professionalism."
Arctic Sunwest Charters has suspended flights until Monday as the airline deals with the aftermath of the crash. Company spokeswoman April Shand says grief counsellors have been called in to help staff and relatives of the crew and passengers.
The initial Transport Canada report into the crash shed little light on what happened. The plane reported that it was on final approach. Two minutes later, as the tower was attempting to confirm the plane landed safely, an emergency transmitter signal was heard and the crash was confirmed.
Some of those who were on the Twin Otter are employees of a mining company returning from exploration work near Thor Lake.
N.W.T. Premier Floyd Roland said Friday the prayers and thoughts of all territorial residents are with the friends and family of the dead and the injured.
"Amidst the history, romance and adventure of our trademark bush pilots and planes, it is so easy to forget the danger and risks that are inherent in this vital northern industry," Roland said in a news release.
"It is a tribute to the men and women that fly these planes daily that reminders such as (Thursday's) events are, in fact, rare and therefore so devastating when they occur."
— By Bob Weber in Edmonton
An Edmonton-based soldier is one of two pilots killed in a Yellowknife Twin Otter plane crash.
Master Corporal Nicole Stacey served most recently with the Yellowknife Company (C Company Loyal Edmonton Regiment), a unit within 41 Canadian Brigade Group.
Originally from Inuvik, Stacey joined the Canadian Forces in 2002 as a signaler serving with both 745 and 746 Communications Squadrons.
In 2009, she realized her goal to work as a civilian commercial pilot in the north, as well as maintain her role with the Canadian Forces as a recruit instructor with the newly formed Yellowknife Company.
"The military family at 41 Canadian Brigade Group sends our deepest condolences out to Master Corporal Stacey's family and close friends in this time of loss," said Colonel Roy Boehli, Commander of 41 Canadian Brigade Group, "We too will miss her and the important role she played in our Brigade."
Stacey and the other pilot are being credited with saving lives by some witnesses.
"It may well be that they are heroes — due to steering the plane, so as to minimize loss of life — in sacrificing their own lives," said witness John Doody, owner of the Dancing Moose Cafe which sits just 50 feet from where the plane went down.
"Clearly, I would say they did their utmost to avoid hitting our building. "
The pilots were killed when the 19-seat Twin Otter float plane clipped power lines and crashed between two buildings in the heart of Old Town, Yellowknife around 1 p.m. Thursday.
Arctic Sunwest Charters vice-president, April Shand, said the company's focus is on supporting the families of the dead and the survivors.
"We do not have specific details of the crash yet, but we can, sadly, confirm that the two pilots did not survive," said Shand Friday. "Right now, our focus is on their families, and the passengers who were hurt."
Seven other people were injured in the crash, three employees of Avalon Rare Metals and four visitors, said company president and CEO, Don Bubar.
The plane crashed on its way back from a tour of Avalon's Thor Lake rare earth exploration camp, about 100 kilometres east of Yellowknife.
"Four people have broken bones, lacerations, that kind of thing, but nothing considered life-threatening," said Bubar, who spoke with all three employees Friday morning.
"We're all still in shock, and relieved the crash wasn't worse than it was. Our hearts go out to the families of the two pilots who lost their lives."
Bubar says the passengers were not able to speculate on the circumstances of the crash.
"Their memories of the last few moments of the crash are fuzzy," he explained.
Bubar extended his gratitude to Old Town residents who rushed to the aid of the passengers, before emergency crews arrived.
Transportation Safety Board investigators were on scene at the crash site Friday.
Having served with the Army Reserves in Alberta, the Yukon and the North West Territories, Master Corporal Stacey earned the reputation of a talented leader that could be relied on to accomplish anything assigned to her.
"As one of the original members of the Yellowknife Company (C Company, Loyal Edmonton Regiment), Master Corporal Stacey was a key part of our growing unit." said Captain Conrad Schubert, Officer in Command of the Yellowknife Company.
"Nicole was the finest representative for the Yellowknife Company and the Canadian Forces we could have wanted and will be remembered for her humour, her intelligence and her great professionalism. She has been essential to the on-going success of the Yellowknife Company."
RCMP and the transportation board are working together at the the scene of the crash, said Yellowknife RCMP spokeswoman Const. Kathy Law Friday.
"We are in the process of interviewing witnesses and two investigators have been working at the site since this morning."
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YELLOWKNIFE - The coroner of the Northwest Territories has released the names of the two people who were killed in a dramatic plane crash on a Yellowknife street.
The pilot was 36-year-old Trevor Jonasson and his 26-year-old co-pilot was Nicole Stacey - both from Yellowknife.
Arctic Sunwest Charters has suspended flights until Monday as the airline deals with the aftermath of the crash.
Company spokeswoman April Shand says grief counsellors have been called in to help staff and relatives of the crew and passengers.
Two of the more severely injured passengers have been flown to Edmonton for treatment.
Some of those who were on the Twin Otter are employees of a mining company returning from exploration work near Thor Lake.
http://www.globalnews.ca
YELLOWKNIFE — Two people are dead and seven more injured after a float plane crashed in Yellowknife on Thursday afternoon, RCMP confirmed.
Const. Kathy Law, RCMP spokeswoman, could not confirm how many survivors were in critical condition, but the RCMP said in a release that seven survivors were “transported by ambulance to Stanton Territorial Hospital with various injuries.”
Chris Krepski, a spokesman for the Transportation Safety Board, said the 19-seat de Havilland Twin Otter float plane crashed in the city’s Old Town area around 1:20 p.m.
Two safety board investigators have been deployed and are expected to arrive in Yellowknife by Friday morning.
The plane belonged to Arctic Sunwest Charters. A woman who answered the phone at the company’s Yellowknife office said the company had no comment.
Const. Law could not confirm reports that the plane crashed into a condominium building, saying it looked as if it went down between two buildings. Law said it clipped power lines.
“Power lines are down in the area and there’s fuel spilled on the ground.”
The cause of the crash is not known. Law said it was windy Thursday in Yellowknife, with gusts of up to 80 kilometres per hour.
The plane crashed across the street from the Bayside B&B and Dancing Moose Cafe on McDonald Drive.
Owner John Doody said his business was almost clipped when the plane struck a “hybrid building” across the street — a combination complex for residences and businesses.
“It hit the building, then flipped around, so that it faced basically the direction it came from,” said Doody.
“The front of (the plane) was smashed and the float is ripped off to the side and there’s not a lot of debris and the engine is just hanging off.”
Based on eyewitness accounts from patrons and his wife, Debbie, who was present during the time of the crash, he said it appeared the plane attempted to make a landing.
“The plane had actually attempted a touch down and actually touched the water, but for whatever reason, the pilot decided to go up again and try for another landing. In doing that, the plane somehow got out of control,” said Doody.
There was no mayday call from the plane before it crashed, said Maj. Gerry Favre, air co-ordinator at Canadian Forces Base Trenton’s search-and-rescue centre.
RCMP informed the centre of the crash, Favre said, and are not directly dealing with the incident.
This is the second crash in the region in as many months. A plane that left Yellowknife for Resolute Bay, Nunavut, in late August crashed near its destination, killing 12 people. Now the city is in mourning all over again, said Mayor Gordon Van Tighem.
“We’ve just gone through a round of memorial services and funerals and now we’ll see what arises out of this one. With the small size of the community and the tightness of the aviation community, I’m pretty well sure that we knew half of the people that were involved, at least.”
Van Tighem said he had been told the charter flight was headed to a mining property. He had not yet been to the crash site, half a block from his home.
“These planes are coming and going probably a dozen times a day. It’s extremely uncommon that anything goes untoward. But it was very, very windy today.”
http://www.calgaryherald.com
YELLOWKNIFE — Two people are dead and four more critically injured after a Twin Otter float plane crashed in Yellowknife on Thursday afternoon.
Chris Krepski, a spokesman for the Transportation Safety Board, confirmed that the casualties were among the two crew members and seven passengers on board.
The 19-seat de Havilland Twin Otter float plane crashed in the city's Old Town area around 1:20 p.m., Krepski said.
Two safety board investigators have been deployed and are expected to arrive in Yellowknife by Friday morning.
The plane belonged to Arctic Sunwest Charters. A woman who answered the phone at the company's Yellowknife office said the company had no comment.
Const. Kathy Law, RCMP spokeswoman, could not confirm reports that the plane crashed into a condominium building, saying it looked as if it went down between two buildings. Law said it clipped power lines.
"Power lines are down in the area and there's fuel spilled on the ground."
The cause of the crash is not known. Law said it was windy Thursday in Yellowknife, with gusts of up to 80 kilometres per hour.
The plane crashed across the street from the Bayside B&B and Dancing Moose Cafe on McDonald Drive.
Owner John Doody said his business was almost clipped when the plane struck a "hybrid building" across the street — a combination complex for residences and businesses.
"It hit the building, then flipped around, so that it faced basically the direction it came from," said Doody.
"The front of (the plane) was smashed and the float is ripped off to the side and there's not a lot of debris and the engine is just hanging off."
Based on eyewitness accounts from patrons and his wife, Debbie, who was present during the time of the crash, he said it appeared the plane attempted to make a landing.
"The plane had actually attempted a touch down and actually touched the water, but for whatever reason, the pilot decided to go up again and try for another landing. In doing that, the plane somehow got out of control," said Doody.
There was no mayday call from the plane before it crashed, said Maj. Gerry Favre, air co-ordinator at Canadian Forces Base Trenton's search-and-rescue centre.
RCMP informed the centre of the crash, Favre said, and are not directly dealing with the incident.
This is the second crash in the region in as many months. A plane that left Yellowknife for Resolute Bay, Nunavut, in late August crashed near its destination, killing 12 people. Now the city is in mourning all over again, said Mayor Gordon Van Tighem.
"We've just gone through a round of memorial services and funerals and now we'll see what arises out of this one. With the small size of the community and the tightness of the aviation community, I'm pretty well sure that we knew half of the people that were involved, at least."
Van Tighem said he had been told the charter flight was headed to a mining property. He had not yet been to the crash site, half a block from his home.
"These planes are coming and going probably a dozen times a day. It's extremely uncommon that anything goes untoward. But it was very, very windy today."
http://www.edmontonjournal.com
Two people are dead and seven are injured after a chartered float plane crashed into a Yellowknife hill just metres from its dock.
The mid-sized Twin Otter plane went down around 1:15 p.m. Thursday afternoon amid high winds and after it appeared to lose power over the Northwest Territories capital.
Its pilot, who may be among the dead, was able to crash-land the plane on a road, hitting only a car while avoiding seriously damaging buildings on either side.
“Unbelievable, really, to go over a bed and breakfast and land on a road before hitting an office building,” Mayor Gordon Van Tighem said. “And it's not a wide road.”
Witnesses say the plane, en route to Yellowknife from a remote community, aborted a landing and was unstable as it circled back.
“For some reason, the pilot decided not to land. So he brought the plane up again and somehow it got out of control. It narrowly missed our building,” said John Doody, owner of Bayside Bed and Breakfast, which sits next to the crash site. The plane then grazed a nearby building before flipping around and coming to a rest, he said.
“There was a huge crash, as you would think. A huge kaboom. It was like an earthquake.”
The crash site was a stone's throw from where the plane would have tied up on Great Slave Lake, and near a popular local monument to bush pilots.
The plane was heavily damaged, particularly its cockpit. Nine people were on board. Two were pronounced dead at the crash site, but their identities weren't released. Mr. Doody said he'd be surprised if anyone in the cockpit survived.
“I saw them pulling the pilot out of it. The front of the airplane – it does not exist,” another witness, a local mechanic, told the CBC. “I can’t help but to be emotional. This is horrible.”
Seven other people on board suffered a range of injuries and were in hospital, health authority spokesman Damien Healy said. RCMP said no one on the ground was hurt.
On Friday, two federal Transportation Safety Board investigators will begin piecing together what led to the crash.
Twin Otters are versatile planes used commonly in the North, and the one that crashed sat 19 people. It was owned by Arctic Sunwest, a private charter company based in Yellowknife that declined comment Thursday.
It's the second crash to shake the community recently. In late August, a plane that left Yellowknife crashed in Nunavut, killing 12 people.
“These planes are coming and going dozens of times a day,” the mayor said, adding many citizens of his tightly knit city will personally know the victims of the crash. “It's very infrequent that anything untoward happens.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com
YELLOWKNIFE - Bystanders tried desperately to save the lives of two pilots Thursday after the bush plane they were flying crashed in an empty lot between two buildings on a Yellowknife street.
But their efforts were in vain. Witnesses say both pilots of the Arctic Sunwest Charters Twin Otter died in the crash.
The plane, which was equipped to land on water, went down after 1 p.m. in a part of town near Great Slave Lake, which is often busy with float plane traffic. The Transportation Safety Board said there were seven passengers on the plane in addition to the two pilots.
Debbie Doody, co-owner of the Dancing Moose Cafe across the street from the crash, was in the kitchen when several of her customers saw the plane go down.
"He crashed into the skirt of the building across the street with his wing and then he just did a total 360 turn and he landed in the parking lot," Doody said. "It was really terrifying.
"It was just a huge crash, kind of like thunder. I can't really explain it. We all just jumped.
"The ladies sitting there in the restaurant, they saw the whole plane go right by the window. They jumped up and screamed and there was this giant crash and the power went out."
Doody and others in the restaurant grabbed towels and blankets and rushed over to see if they could help.
"We all ran over there and we pulled (the pilots) out of the plane," she said.
A bystander had to cut one of them out of the seat, said Doody. The other pilot came out more easily.
Everybody did what they could to try to save the pilots' lives, she said.
"They worked on them with CPR for a really long time. The two pilots, they didn't make it.
"It's really upsetting."
Damien Healy with Stanton Hospital confirmed two died on scene. Of the seven passengers, two were in critical condition. The remaining five were also in hospital, but their conditions were stable. At least one of the injured was being flown to hospital in Edmonton.
The Transportation Safety Board said it was sending two investigators to the site.
RCMP Const. Kathy Law says she's not sure whether the plane was taking off or coming in for a landing .
A woman who answered the phone at the Arctic Sunwest office was distraught and declined comment.
http://www.globaltoronto.com
Two people are dead and seven are in hospital after a float plane crash in Yellowknife.
The charter plane, owned by Arctic Sunwest, crashed on land around 1:15 p.m. Thursday in the Old Town section of the Northwest Territories capital, near the company's float plane base on Great Slave Lake. Some witnesses told local media the plane appeared to wobble in the air as it lost altitude.
Photos show the heavily damaged plane sitting on the side of a hill between two buildings, near the Pilots’ Monument, a tribute to bush pilots in the region.
Two people were pronounced dead at the scene. The cockpit appeared to sustain most of the damage, but the identities of the dead weren't immediately released.
The health authority says the remaining seven passengers are all injured and some may be flown to Edmonton for further treatment. Some of their injuries are minor, while some cases, including a back injury and a pelvic fracture, are serious, officials said.
A woman at Arctic Sunwest's Yellowknife head office said the company wouldn't comment. RCMP say the Twin Otter hit power lines and a car in the landing. Crews are working to cut power to lines that were struck, and RCMP have shut down roads throughout the area.
It’s the second recent crash in the region. A plane that left Yellowknife for Resolute Bay crashed near its destination in late August, killing 12 people.
“It’s our second plane crash in a month. I don’t want to go on a plane for a long time,” a waitress at a local restaurant near the crash site said. “For a close knit community, when something happens it doesn’t just affect them. It affects everyone.”
Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com
At least two people are dead and seven injured after a plane crashed into a condominium in Yellowknife.
It is not yet clear if the victims were in the plane, or on the ground.
A Twin Otter float plane, owned by Arctic Sunwest Charters, clipped the building and some power lines in Yellowknife's Old Town, a narrow peninsula that juts into Great Slave Lake, on Thursday. The RCMP have not yet confirmed how many passengers were on the plane, but several people were taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
RCMP Const. Kathy Law said the plane was coming in for a landing on Great Slave Lake when it crashed between two buildings.
A woman who answered the phone at the Arctic Sunwest Charters office sounded distraught and declined comment.
The incident occurred in front of the Dancing Moose Cafe and the Geo-sciences building in an area known as Old Town.
An eyewitness said a car was crushed by the plane.
Police, ambulance and fire crews are still on the scene.
The RCMP said roads in the area are closed until further notice.
There are two float plane marinas near the crash site.
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People are being treated for life-threatening injuries after a plane hit a house in Yellowknife.
An Arctic Sunwest plane apparently clipped a house and some power lines as it came down in front of Dancing Moose Cafe and the Geo-sciences building in Old Town, Yellowknife.
An eyewitness said a car was crushed by the plane.
Police, ambulance and fire crews are on the scene.
The RCMP say roads in the area are closed until further notice.
The accident happened near a narrow peninsula that goes into Great Slave Lake. There are two float plane marinas nearby.
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A float plane crash in Yellowknife has left several people in hospital with life-threatening injuries.
YELLOWKNIFE — Two people are dead and four more critically injured after a Twin Otter float plane crashed in Yellowknife on Thursday afternoon.
Chris Krepski, a spokesman for the Transportation Safety Board, confirmed that the casualties were among the two crew members and seven passengers on board.
The 19-seat de Havilland Twin Otter float plane crashed in the city's Old Town area around 1:20 p.m., Krepski said.
Two safety board investigators have been deployed and are expected to arrive in Yellowknife by Friday morning.
The plane belonged to Arctic Sunwest Charters. A woman who answered the phone at the company's Yellowknife office said the company had no comment.
Const. Kathy Law, RCMP spokeswoman, could not confirm reports that the plane crashed into a condominium building, saying it looked as if it went down between two buildings. Law said it clipped power lines.
"Power lines are down in the area and there's fuel spilled on the ground."
The cause of the crash is not known. Law said it was windy Thursday in Yellowknife, with gusts of up to 80 kilometres per hour.
The plane crashed across the street from the Bayside B&B and Dancing Moose Cafe on McDonald Drive.
Owner John Doody said his business was almost clipped when the plane struck a "hybrid building" across the street — a combination complex for residences and businesses.
"It hit the building, then flipped around, so that it faced basically the direction it came from," said Doody.
"The front of (the plane) was smashed and the float is ripped off to the side and there's not a lot of debris and the engine is just hanging off."
Based on eyewitness accounts from patrons and his wife, Debbie, who was present during the time of the crash, he said it appeared the plane attempted to make a landing.
"The plane had actually attempted a touch down and actually touched the water, but for whatever reason, the pilot decided to go up again and try for another landing. In doing that, the plane somehow got out of control," said Doody.
There was no mayday call from the plane before it crashed, said Maj. Gerry Favre, air co-ordinator at Canadian Forces Base Trenton's search-and-rescue centre.
RCMP informed the centre of the crash, Favre said, and are not directly dealing with the incident.
This is the second crash in the region in as many months. A plane that left Yellowknife for Resolute Bay, Nunavut, in late August crashed near its destination, killing 12 people. Now the city is in mourning all over again, said Mayor Gordon Van Tighem.
"We've just gone through a round of memorial services and funerals and now we'll see what arises out of this one. With the small size of the community and the tightness of the aviation community, I'm pretty well sure that we knew half of the people that were involved, at least."
Van Tighem said he had been told the charter flight was headed to a mining property. He had not yet been to the crash site, half a block from his home.
"These planes are coming and going probably a dozen times a day. It's extremely uncommon that anything goes untoward. But it was very, very windy today."
http://www.edmontonjournal.com
Two people are dead and seven are injured after a chartered float plane crashed into a Yellowknife hill just metres from its dock.
The mid-sized Twin Otter plane went down around 1:15 p.m. Thursday afternoon amid high winds and after it appeared to lose power over the Northwest Territories capital.
Its pilot, who may be among the dead, was able to crash-land the plane on a road, hitting only a car while avoiding seriously damaging buildings on either side.
“Unbelievable, really, to go over a bed and breakfast and land on a road before hitting an office building,” Mayor Gordon Van Tighem said. “And it's not a wide road.”
Witnesses say the plane, en route to Yellowknife from a remote community, aborted a landing and was unstable as it circled back.
“For some reason, the pilot decided not to land. So he brought the plane up again and somehow it got out of control. It narrowly missed our building,” said John Doody, owner of Bayside Bed and Breakfast, which sits next to the crash site. The plane then grazed a nearby building before flipping around and coming to a rest, he said.
“There was a huge crash, as you would think. A huge kaboom. It was like an earthquake.”
The crash site was a stone's throw from where the plane would have tied up on Great Slave Lake, and near a popular local monument to bush pilots.
The plane was heavily damaged, particularly its cockpit. Nine people were on board. Two were pronounced dead at the crash site, but their identities weren't released. Mr. Doody said he'd be surprised if anyone in the cockpit survived.
“I saw them pulling the pilot out of it. The front of the airplane – it does not exist,” another witness, a local mechanic, told the CBC. “I can’t help but to be emotional. This is horrible.”
Seven other people on board suffered a range of injuries and were in hospital, health authority spokesman Damien Healy said. RCMP said no one on the ground was hurt.
On Friday, two federal Transportation Safety Board investigators will begin piecing together what led to the crash.
Twin Otters are versatile planes used commonly in the North, and the one that crashed sat 19 people. It was owned by Arctic Sunwest, a private charter company based in Yellowknife that declined comment Thursday.
It's the second crash to shake the community recently. In late August, a plane that left Yellowknife crashed in Nunavut, killing 12 people.
“These planes are coming and going dozens of times a day,” the mayor said, adding many citizens of his tightly knit city will personally know the victims of the crash. “It's very infrequent that anything untoward happens.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com
YELLOWKNIFE - Bystanders tried desperately to save the lives of two pilots Thursday after the bush plane they were flying crashed in an empty lot between two buildings on a Yellowknife street.
But their efforts were in vain. Witnesses say both pilots of the Arctic Sunwest Charters Twin Otter died in the crash.
The plane, which was equipped to land on water, went down after 1 p.m. in a part of town near Great Slave Lake, which is often busy with float plane traffic. The Transportation Safety Board said there were seven passengers on the plane in addition to the two pilots.
Debbie Doody, co-owner of the Dancing Moose Cafe across the street from the crash, was in the kitchen when several of her customers saw the plane go down.
"He crashed into the skirt of the building across the street with his wing and then he just did a total 360 turn and he landed in the parking lot," Doody said. "It was really terrifying.
"It was just a huge crash, kind of like thunder. I can't really explain it. We all just jumped.
"The ladies sitting there in the restaurant, they saw the whole plane go right by the window. They jumped up and screamed and there was this giant crash and the power went out."
Doody and others in the restaurant grabbed towels and blankets and rushed over to see if they could help.
"We all ran over there and we pulled (the pilots) out of the plane," she said.
A bystander had to cut one of them out of the seat, said Doody. The other pilot came out more easily.
Everybody did what they could to try to save the pilots' lives, she said.
"They worked on them with CPR for a really long time. The two pilots, they didn't make it.
"It's really upsetting."
Damien Healy with Stanton Hospital confirmed two died on scene. Of the seven passengers, two were in critical condition. The remaining five were also in hospital, but their conditions were stable. At least one of the injured was being flown to hospital in Edmonton.
The Transportation Safety Board said it was sending two investigators to the site.
RCMP Const. Kathy Law says she's not sure whether the plane was taking off or coming in for a landing .
A woman who answered the phone at the Arctic Sunwest office was distraught and declined comment.
http://www.globaltoronto.com
Two people are dead and seven are in hospital after a float plane crash in Yellowknife.
The charter plane, owned by Arctic Sunwest, crashed on land around 1:15 p.m. Thursday in the Old Town section of the Northwest Territories capital, near the company's float plane base on Great Slave Lake. Some witnesses told local media the plane appeared to wobble in the air as it lost altitude.
Photos show the heavily damaged plane sitting on the side of a hill between two buildings, near the Pilots’ Monument, a tribute to bush pilots in the region.
Two people were pronounced dead at the scene. The cockpit appeared to sustain most of the damage, but the identities of the dead weren't immediately released.
The health authority says the remaining seven passengers are all injured and some may be flown to Edmonton for further treatment. Some of their injuries are minor, while some cases, including a back injury and a pelvic fracture, are serious, officials said.
A woman at Arctic Sunwest's Yellowknife head office said the company wouldn't comment. RCMP say the Twin Otter hit power lines and a car in the landing. Crews are working to cut power to lines that were struck, and RCMP have shut down roads throughout the area.
It’s the second recent crash in the region. A plane that left Yellowknife for Resolute Bay crashed near its destination in late August, killing 12 people.
“It’s our second plane crash in a month. I don’t want to go on a plane for a long time,” a waitress at a local restaurant near the crash site said. “For a close knit community, when something happens it doesn’t just affect them. It affects everyone.”
Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com
At least two people are dead and seven injured after a plane crashed into a condominium in Yellowknife.
It is not yet clear if the victims were in the plane, or on the ground.
A Twin Otter float plane, owned by Arctic Sunwest Charters, clipped the building and some power lines in Yellowknife's Old Town, a narrow peninsula that juts into Great Slave Lake, on Thursday. The RCMP have not yet confirmed how many passengers were on the plane, but several people were taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
RCMP Const. Kathy Law said the plane was coming in for a landing on Great Slave Lake when it crashed between two buildings.
A woman who answered the phone at the Arctic Sunwest Charters office sounded distraught and declined comment.
The incident occurred in front of the Dancing Moose Cafe and the Geo-sciences building in an area known as Old Town.
An eyewitness said a car was crushed by the plane.
Police, ambulance and fire crews are still on the scene.
The RCMP said roads in the area are closed until further notice.
There are two float plane marinas near the crash site.
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People are being treated for life-threatening injuries after a plane hit a house in Yellowknife.
An Arctic Sunwest plane apparently clipped a house and some power lines as it came down in front of Dancing Moose Cafe and the Geo-sciences building in Old Town, Yellowknife.
An eyewitness said a car was crushed by the plane.
Police, ambulance and fire crews are on the scene.
The RCMP say roads in the area are closed until further notice.
The accident happened near a narrow peninsula that goes into Great Slave Lake. There are two float plane marinas nearby.
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A float plane crash in Yellowknife has left several people in hospital with life-threatening injuries.
RCMP said it’s too early to say whether anyone died in the crash, which occurred around 1:15 p.m. local time Thursday afternoon.
Witness reports say the plane crashed on a road in the Old Town section of the Northwest Territories capital, near the city’s float plane base and the local Pilots’ Monument, a tribute to bush pilots in the region.
“No word on fatalities, no word on how many souls on board,” RCMP Constable Kathy Law said. “There have been people transported to hospital with life-threatening injuries, don’t know what the injuries are.”
The 19-passenger Twin Otter belonged to Arctic Sunwest, a charter company based in the city, police said. A woman at the company’s office said they weren’t commenting. Witnesses say it hit power lines and a car and partly hit a building. Photos show the front of the plane with heavy damage, though still largely intact.
“It almost sounded like it landed beside a building,” Constable Law said.
Crews are working to cut power to lines that were struck, and RCMP have shut down roads throughout the area.
“They were trying to get someone out alive,” said a waitress at a nearby restaurant who walked to the scene of the crash. Police are now asking people to stay away from the site.
It’s the second recent crash in the region. A plane that left Yellowknife for Resolute Bay crashed near its destination in late August, killing 12 people.
“It’s our second plane crash in a month. I don’t want to go on a plane for a long time,” the waitress said. “For a close knit community, when something happens it doesn’t just affect them. It affects everyone.”
YELLOWKNIFE- An Arctic Sunwest Twin Otter floatplane crashed into Yellowknife’s Old Town section Thursday, RCMP said. Const. Kathy Law said the plane was coming in for a landing when it crashed. Law said they aircraft may have crashed in between two buildings. Law could not immediately say how many people were onboard the plane or if there was anyone on the ground where it crashed.
She said several people had been transported to hospital with life threatening injuries. Law said police, fire and ambulance personnel were on scene and that the RCMP was urging local residents to say away from the area. An employee at Arctic Sunwest said the company was not commenting at the moment. Arctic Sunwest is a charter company with a head office in Yellowknife.
