Air Canada Flight 646
Encyclopedia
Air Canada Flight 646 was a flight from Toronto's
Lester B. Pearson International Airport
to Fredericton, New Brunswick
, operated by Air Canada
. On 16 December 1997, at 23:48 local time, the Canadair
CRJ-100ER
(CL-65) jet crashed after a failed go-around
attempt in Fredericton. All passengers and crew survived, despite a 20 minute emergency response time and inadequate emergency training of the flight crew.
Immediately, the first officer advanced the thrust lever
s, selected go-around mode for his flight director, and the aircraft began to pitch up. Almost immediately thereafter, the stick-shaker activated. The aircraft continued to pitch up and soon went into a stall.
The aircraft banked sharply to the right until the wingtip contacted the runway, bending the wing upwards by four feet. Then the aircraft leveled off until the nose contacted the runway. This broke the right winglet, broke off the nose landing gear, destroyed the radome
, and caused heavy damage to the underside of the aircraft. All electrical power except the emergency lighting was lost. At this time engines had reached full power and the aircraft was rolling on its main gear, off the right side of the runway, through the snow, until it hit a ditch that ran parallel to the runway. This sent the plane airborne, where it flew about 1000 feet (304.8 m), struck some trees, and finally came to rest. One large tree had entered the cabin through the main passenger door and cut a path in the fuselage through the first five rows of seats.
The flight attendant
during the crash sequence shouted brace position
commands and once the aircraft stopped, immediately evacuated the aircraft with the assistance of an off-duty flight attendant. Some passengers could not be extricated and required rescue from the Fire Services.
There was no fire on board the aircraft, no fatalities, and most on board were able to evacuate safely.
probe listed 29 causes and contributing factors and an additional 16 aggravating factors in the crash and rescue performance, including the following:
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
Lester B. Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport serving Toronto, Ontario, Canada; its metropolitan area; and the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration that is home to 8.1 million people – approximately 25% of Canada's population...
to Fredericton, New Brunswick
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Fredericton is the capital of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, by virtue of the provincial parliament which sits there. An important cultural, artistic, and educational centre for the province, Fredericton is home to two universities and cultural institutions such as the Beaverbrook Art...
, operated by Air Canada
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and largest airline of Canada. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 178 destinations worldwide. It is the world's tenth largest passenger airline by number of destinations, and the airline is a...
. On 16 December 1997, at 23:48 local time, the Canadair
Canadair
Canadair Ltd. was a civil and military aircraft manufacturer in Canada. It was a subsidiary of other aircraft manufacturers, then a nationalized corporation until privatized in 1986, and became the core of Bombardier Aerospace....
CRJ-100ER
Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet
The Bombardier CRJ is a family of regional airliners manufactured by Bombardier:* CRJ100 - 50 seats* CRJ200 - 50 seats* CRJ700 - 70 seats* CRJ705 - 75 seats* CRJ900 - 90 seats* CRJ1000 - 100 seats...
(CL-65) jet crashed after a failed go-around
Go-around
A go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft that is on final approach.- Origin of the term :The term arises from the traditional use of traffic patterns at airfields. A landing aircraft will first join the circuit pattern and prepare for landing in an orderly fashion...
attempt in Fredericton. All passengers and crew survived, despite a 20 minute emergency response time and inadequate emergency training of the flight crew.
Crash
The weather in Fredericton was difficult—reported weather gave 100 feet (30.5 m) of vertical visibility and 1/8 of a mile in horizontal visibility. With the runway lights, the runway visibility was 1200 feet (365.8 m) for landing on runway 15. At 200 feet (61 m) above ground level the captain approved the landing and the first officer, who was the pilot flying, responded that he would land the plane. Once the first officer disengaged the autopilot the aircraft drifted off the centre line of the runway and as the plane approached 80 feet (24.4 m) above ground level the first officer reduced the engine thrust to idle speed. The captain, knowing the plane was off center and unsure how much runway was left, ordered a go-around.Immediately, the first officer advanced the thrust lever
Thrust lever
Thrust levers are found in the cockpit of aircraft, and are used by the pilot, copilot, or autopilot to control the power output of the aircraft's engines....
s, selected go-around mode for his flight director, and the aircraft began to pitch up. Almost immediately thereafter, the stick-shaker activated. The aircraft continued to pitch up and soon went into a stall.
The aircraft banked sharply to the right until the wingtip contacted the runway, bending the wing upwards by four feet. Then the aircraft leveled off until the nose contacted the runway. This broke the right winglet, broke off the nose landing gear, destroyed the radome
Radome
A radome is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a microwave or radar antenna. The radome is constructed of material that minimally attenuates the electromagnetic signal transmitted or received by the antenna. In other words, the radome is transparent to radar or radio waves...
, and caused heavy damage to the underside of the aircraft. All electrical power except the emergency lighting was lost. At this time engines had reached full power and the aircraft was rolling on its main gear, off the right side of the runway, through the snow, until it hit a ditch that ran parallel to the runway. This sent the plane airborne, where it flew about 1000 feet (304.8 m), struck some trees, and finally came to rest. One large tree had entered the cabin through the main passenger door and cut a path in the fuselage through the first five rows of seats.
The flight attendant
Flight attendant
Flight attendants or cabin crew are members of an aircrew employed by airlines primarily to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers aboard commercial flights, on select business jet aircraft, and on some military aircraft.-History:The role of a flight attendant derives from that of similar...
during the crash sequence shouted brace position
Brace position
Bracing or crash position is an instruction that can be given to prepare for a crash, such as on an aircraft, the instruction to brace for impact is often given if the aircraft must make an emergency landing over land or water....
commands and once the aircraft stopped, immediately evacuated the aircraft with the assistance of an off-duty flight attendant. Some passengers could not be extricated and required rescue from the Fire Services.
There was no fire on board the aircraft, no fatalities, and most on board were able to evacuate safely.
Rescue
The CRJ (CL-65) aircraft was not equipped with an emergency locator transmitter, nor was one required. This, combined with the snow, fog, and darkness, hampered rescue efforts as the first responders did not arrive until 20 minutes after the incident. Passengers and crew also had no means of signalling rescuers to reveal their location. As well, the flight crew was unaware that pry-bars were part of the standard rescue gear aboard the aircraft. Thus they were unable to assist at least six individuals trapped inside the aircraft by the crash, until rescuers arrived.Investigation
The Transportation Safety BoardTransportation Safety Board of Canada
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada , officially the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board is the agency of the Government of Canada responsible for maintaining...
probe listed 29 causes and contributing factors and an additional 16 aggravating factors in the crash and rescue performance, including the following:
- Given the weather conditions, runway conditions, and first officer experience, the decision to allow the first officer to land the plane was questionable, though within policy.
- The wings had accumulated ice, degrading their performance, and reducing the maximum angle of attack before stall.
- The stick shaker worked as designed but the reduced wing performance reduced the warning time given by the stick shaker.
- A go-around without impacting the ground would not have been possible at the altitude it was ordered due to weather conditions and wing performance.
- The flight crew was not trained according to legal requirements in emergency procedures, including go-around, rescue and emergency exits.
- Stall-recovery training did not account for the weather conditions at the time of the crash.
- The published go-around procedure did not account for the time required for the engines spin up to sufficient thrust for go-around after idling.