ATR-42 down in Canada

A West Wind ATR-42 has crashed near the Fon du Lac airport in Saskatchewan Canada. The aircraft had 22 passengers and 3 crew on board, and had departed Fon du Lac for Stoney Rapids. Photos that are reportedly of the crash site show that the aircraft came down in a wooded area. Amazingly they're reporting no fatalities.

There's no weather data available for the departure, but Stoney Rapids reported poor visibility, mist, snow and freezing conditions.

www.flightglobal.com...

www.thesun.co.uk...

saskatoon.ctvnews.ca...

a reply to: Zaphod58

No fatalities from the crash, but several survivors have been eaten by bears.....

:-)

Isn't the ATR-42 the aircraft type that suffered several crashes 10-15 years back due icing, seem to remember several crashes Buffalo? Illinois or Indiana?

a reply to: Zaphod58

thank goodness people are alive, i bet it has a good glide profile.


what a way to start your day, how scary .

everytime i fly i always have the fear in the back of my head of what if we go down. silly but it's still there.

a reply to: Phoenix

Yes. They had a pretty horrific crash about 20 years ago when the aft fuselage separated during a recovery attempt.

originally posted by: Fools
a reply to: Zaphod58

No fatalities from the crash, but several survivors have been eaten by bears.....

:-)

It is an area full of big hungry wildlife. And so cold there...they were lucky they were all found so fast.

a reply to: snowspirit

lol big hungry wildlife.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Think they did bunch of icing tests to identify problems and guess that worked till now.

Conditions described in OP suggest icing as possible problem again. Of course could be anything such as fuel, engines as cause.

Glad everyone made it alive.

a reply to: Phoenix

It wasn't icing, unless the fuel iced. Passengers are saying they lost power in both engines before impact.

That would sound like fuel contamination. Or someone pumped it full of avgas.

ice ice baby ........ errrr perhaps not. If they got a shipment of fuel without the anti freezing additive ( negative pris?) then its possible.

Both engines failing is either fuel or pilot error



Glad to see there are no casualty reports!

One of the passengers on board was 19 year old Arson Fern Jr. He has Cerebral Palsey, and was trapped for three plus hours while they worked to free him. He was wedged between seats after the crash. He was transported to the hospital with a broken pelvis, collapsed lung, and a damaged artery in his pelvis.

According to his father the aircraft began to swing from side to side after takeoff, before hitting the ground, when a six by six section of fuselage ripped open. One passenger was thrown from the aircraft, and several were trapped.

ATR Crash.

Transport Canada has suspended West Wind's operating certificate. They cited concerns over the Operational Control System, which is used to dispatch flights and crews. Engine failure has been ruled out in the crash at Fon-Du-Lac, but the investigation is ongoing.

www.cbc.ca...

originally posted by: RadioRobert
That would sound like fuel contamination. Or someone pumped it full of avgas.

Turbines can run on avgas.

a reply to: 38181

Turboprops can't. The ATR-42 acceptable fuels are Jet A, Jet A1, JP5 and RT, TS1. It can't run on avgas.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Maybe not legally but accidentally it will still run, turbines/turboprops can pretty much run on any fuel just short of paraffin wax. The turboprop (PT6-67F) I fly can run 150 hrs on avgas before it needs a compressor overhaul/inspection. There might be even a certain amount of hours the ATR could run on avgas in an emergency in the poh. Now if it were the other way around, a piston powered engine will Not run on jetfuel.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Zaph, how does the ATR-42 compare with the DHC-8-400 Dash 8.

I used to take hops to Wisconsin and Canada in the Dash 8. They look to be very similar in design (high wing, turbo props).
The Dash-8 had icing problems as I recollect.

a reply to: charlyv

The Dash-8 is a little more comfortable in flight for the passengers, but harder on the landing. The ATR is cheaper to operate, but more maintenance intensive due to the wiring they used.

a reply to: 38181

Avgas is going to damage the engine if it's run in a turboprop. It will run, but it's going to run much hotter when the engine is running. That's going to cause some damage.

originally posted by: 38181

originally posted by: RadioRobert
That would sound like fuel contamination. Or someone pumped it full of avgas.

Turbines can run on avgas.

Sure, until you're in the arctic where it is cold and wet and you sit out on the ramp for abit and the AvGas, JetA, and water all separate into three layers and the uneven mix (or absence) of the FSII in your JetA/AvGas starts clogging the system with ice as you gain altitude and even lower temps which leads to surges or drops in output or outright failure... Or when the difference in lubricity and burn temps make the injectors fail on a longer run.
But yeah, in an emergency under general conditions you could put 100ll into a PW120 and probably make it to wherever you're headed for JetA. If you don't mind the expense of an early overhaul.