Zone

Crash of a De Havilland DHC-3 Otter in Camp Placer

Date & Time: Apr 20, 1987
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
C-FRWK
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Chibougamau – Camp Placer
MSN:
450
YOM:
1965
Country:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
4
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The Otter, with five occupants on board, was on a charter from its base at Chibougamau to Camp Placer, 206 miles to the north-east. At destination, a sand runway 2,200 feet in length and 100 feet in width had been built on an esker. On either side, there was a 100 foot gradient with a thirty degree slope. The wind speed was twenty knots. According to the operating manual, the wind exceeded the seven knot cross-wind limitation for the aircraft under such conditions. When the tail wheel touched down, the Otter turned nose to the wind, left the runway and came to rest at the bottom of the esker, in a sorry state. The Otter was destroyed in the accident.
Source: Karl E. Hayes