First Air Crash Resolute Bay August 20 2011

[cdnpilot77]

David Hare had been a family friend since he was my sisters first boyfriend at 13-14 years old. He was an excellent competitive swimmer in his younger days and our families spent many weekends together at various swim meets around Ontario. He was an excellent person and He had a great family! His sister had the terrible task of going to Resolute today to accompany his body back home. My most sincere condolences go to all of the other families and friends affected by this tragedy.

[onspeed]

The ILS was notamed US after the crash

[null]

Prior to any comment I offer my condolences to the 7F crew and affected families. I can't even begin to imagine what they're going through. I have flown into YRB on multiple occasions and appreciate the hostile environment that it can be. I also respect the 7F crews for their professionalism and skill.

As far as flying the ILS approach off a VOR frequency, I'd think the GS would be flagged not show on center.

For CFIT, there are other malfunctions that could have occurred, ie. engine out, reverse deployed etc... There is TAWS and EGPWS info for databases this far north.

On my last trip through YRB, TAWS info was not available, it gave out at approx 74 deg North. While this info may be available, it has to be loaded into the device.

[KAG]

To all who do like to speculate:

In a nutshell, there is a time and a place for everything. Jumping into a thread about an accident where the news is fresh, the names not yet released, and the bulk of the posts are remorseful in content – is NOT the time to start theorizing about what happened. If only to prevent the thread from devolving (as they usually do), and keep those friends/family who may be lurking here trying to find some sort of comfort from the posts we leave.

I agree speculation and debate are crucial to our personal/professional development, and if theorizing on an accident prevents someone from repeating it, then this forum has proven itself a useful tool.

But again time and place.

[down north]

For those interested there will be a memorial service tonight at Arctic Sunwest for friends and family and anyone affected by this tragedy. A bunch of the companies here in YZF will be conducting a fly-by in respect to everyone involved and the good folks over at First Air.

I can't imagine someone would charter a 737 for only a few passengers.

These jets are combi aircraft, the aircraft was loaded with a bunch of cargo as well as the 15 passengers.

[Brewguy]

First-time flyer, young couple on board ill-fated flight

Pilot Blair Rutherford of Leduc, Alta., had been with the company for 15 years. The 48-year-old was married to a First Air flight attendant, Tatiana, and they have two young children.

Yellowknife flight attendant Ute Merritt, 55, was also married to a First Air employee. Her husband, Jim, is a pilot on the company's Hercules aircraft. They have five children.

The co-pilot, 25-year-old David Hare, lived in Yellowknife with his wife, Jane, and their three daughters -- the youngest just one month old.

Head attendant Ann Marie Chassie, 42, had worked for First Air in Yellowknife for 22 years. She leaves behind two teenage children.

I've been reading more about some of the passengers and crew in more recent news articles...
It's just gut wrenching. I can't imagine what these families are going through.

[All Sides]

To all who do like to speculate:

In a nutshell, there is a time and a place for everything. Jumping into a thread about an accident where the news is fresh, the names not yet released, and the bulk of the posts are remorseful in content – is NOT the time to start theorizing about what happened. If only to prevent the thread from devolving (as they usually do), and keep those friends/family who may be lurking here trying to find some sort of comfort from the posts we leave.

I agree speculation and debate are crucial to our personal/professional development, and if theorizing on an accident prevents someone from repeating it, then this forum has proven itself a useful tool.

But again time and place.

Well said KAG, I agree 100% with you. There is a lot of people coming to this site to find out details of the accident, such as the names of the passengers and crews involved. The question one has to ask themselves before speculating on the causes of an accident, is how would they feel if relatives, friends, colleagues or themselves were involved in the accident. I can guarantee that very few would appreciate it, least of all me.

There is so many factors that could have happened on this flight that haven't even been thought of, every speculator might be way off. Normally there is a long chain of events that occur before an accident occurs, in time I am sure the black boxes will undoubtedly reveal what may of happened. How can you learn from this accident when you don`t even know what happened yet. If you have to speculate on this accident, at least have to courtesy and compassion of starting another thread.


Again, my sincre condolences to the family and friends of the victims of this accident.

[cncpc]

I don't think that it can be presumed that a thread about an accident is a condolences thread, but fair enough...

viewtopic.php?f=118&t=76064

[Brewguy]

First Air passengers had no warnings before crash: RCMP

By Jordan Press, Postmedia News
August 24, 2011 2:46 PM

Passengers aboard First Air flight 6560 had no warning that they were about to crash in the seconds before their plane slammed into a hillside in Resolute Bay, the youngest survivor of the crash has told investigators.

Shortly after the crash, investigators spoke with seven-year-old Gabrielle Pelky who told investigators that as the plane began to descend to the airport in the tiny Arctic hamlet, everything appeared fine.

She described seeing buildings and the landscape just before impact.

"When the plane was going down into Resolute, it all felt normal," said RCMP Supt. Howard Eaton.

"Next thing you know, it was bang. There were no bells, no warnings."

Eaton said Pelky gave a detailed description of the flight, including where everyone was sitting, and the final seconds before the crash.

"She was very together. Seven going on 20," Eaton said.

Saturday's crash killed 12 people. Pelky and two other passengers survived.

Pelky and Nicole Williamson, 23, walked away from the crash site. Robin Wyllie, 48, was helped away from the site by rescuers.

Williamson and Wyllie are recovering at the Ottawa Hospital. Pelky was released from the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario on Monday.

Williamson is to have surgery on her foot, her father Mark Williamson said.

"She's in pretty good condition, considering what she's gone through," he said. "As you can imagine, walking away from something like that is a fairly traumatic thing."

First Air has said it lost communication with the Boeing 737-200 around 12:40 p.m. local time Saturday when the plane was eight kilometres from the airport. A few minutes later, the plane crashed, splintering into three pieces and sending debris across a one-kilometre area.

The RCMP have removed all the remains from the site, said Sgt. Paul Solomon in Resolute Bay.

Investigators have not been able to hand over the site to the Transportation Safety Board because of the weather. Solomon said high winds on Wednesday whipped up debris and forced investigators off the hillside for safety reasons.

The Transportation Safety Board will be responsible for determining what caused the plane to crash.

With files from the Ottawa Citizen
© Copyright (c) Postmedia News

Read more: http://www.canada.com/First+passengers+ ... z1VzEJygrK

[thirdtimecharm]

I would like to wish my amazing colleagues within First Air my sincere condolences... its been a tough week and I have admired so much how everyone has found the strength to safely carry on and find time to support one another.

This week I have seen seasoned veterans shed some tears, and find the right words of support. This is probably the corniest thing that I will ever say but I truly feel a part of a family this week and I would like to thank you all.

Also, our friends at Canadian North have been truly classy and incredibly supportive- thanks very much guys and gals. The flight crews, Randy here in YRT and everyone has been true friends.

Just wanted to pass along that all week in Rankin Inlet people have been stopping First Air employees and offering a handshake or a hug and telling us about their next flight on First Air. There are people here who knew the crews from their business trips, from receiving comfort from our flight attendants while escorting loved ones on their final trips to the hospital, or having a special honeymoon flight. While people here may have only spent a few hours with our lost colleagues, these are often significant hours and have truly made a lasting impression. They are missed.

Jimi Onalik
Rankin Inlet

P.S. Would anyone happen to have any pictures they can post of the flypast in Yellowknife?

[SMjett]

[CLguy]

Well done guys and gals! A nice tribute!

[Siddley Hawker]

What a wonderful, wonderful gesture. How fitting it was led by the grandaddy of them all, the DC-3. Congratulations fellas!

[All Sides]

WOW! I am sure the crew is looking down with a great big smile! Very Classy, and very Emotional! A Great Tribute......

[Brewguy]

TSB team ends on-site probe of fatal Arctic crash

Nunatsiaq News
September 1, 2011 4:09 PM

RESOLUTE BAY, Nunavut — The Transportation Safety Board has completed the first stage of its investigation into the cause of the Aug. 20 crash of First Air flight 6560 near the Resolute Bay airport that killed 12 and injured three.

Chris Krepski, spokesman for the TSB, said Thursday that the board's team of 23 investigators was on its way back to Ottawa. The TSB investigators expect to take many months to complete their investigation into the crash of the Boeing 737.

Meanwhile, First Air said it has assumed responsibility for the final stages of the crash site remediation and environmental cleanup.

Qater Earth Science Assoc. Ltd., Atco and a local hunters and trappers organization will "assist and consult during the cleanup," First Air said.

The governments of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories and Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada have approved the plan.

Government inspectors are on-site to oversee the process, First Air said.

[Donald]

I can't believe it's been a year already, I think about Dave Hare and the entire crew still. I know there will be many people reminiscing today, and some stories shared. Rest in peace guys, you may be gone, but never forgotten.

[plhought]

One year later. Still tough I imagine for many.

Some more info today:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/sto ... olute.html

Not really about the accident, but some resultant TSB Directives.

[HuD 91gt]

This one sums up what I saw during that period quite nicely. Relieved they are at least are getting some information together.
http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/second-plane ... s-1.923874

A lot of emotion floating around 1 year later. Hope everyone is hanging in there.

[Diadem]

Any word on when the TSB report might be coming out? The interim report they released a while back made it sound like they'd pretty much reached their conclusions and just had paperwork to finish before producing the final one.

[Liquid Charlie]

The TSB time line is 24 months -+ for major accidents -- there is still a lot to do even after their investigation is done - in this case translation alone would be time consuming since there was also a number of Inuit dialects to deal with -- also the reports are released to all parties concerned for reading and input prior to any public report -- I would hazard a guess you will not see a public report until at least Sept/13 or even later.

[cncpc]

The TSB Draft Report on this accident is finished. Awaiting distribution.

[ODA]

The TSB Draft Report on this accident is finished. Awaiting distribution.

Not 100% accurate. The draft report is finished and will go through an internal TSB review and there could be changes. Once that is complete the "new" draft will be sent to the interested parties and they will have 30 days to comment on the report. TSB will then take all the comments and draft the final report that will become public.

[swordfish]

Seems like an excessively tedious procedure. Why does it take so long?

[justwork]

Seems like an excessively tedious procedure. Why does it take so long?

Likely to get it right.

[Sidebar]

The draft report is finished and will go through an internal TSB review and there could be changes. Once that is complete the "new" draft will be sent to the interested parties and they will have 30 days to comment on the report. TSB will then take all the comments and draft the final report that will become public.

Seems like an excessively tedious procedure. Why does it take so long?

The internal review is done to ensure that the draft report meets TSB standards and the analysis and findings are logical and supported by the facts. The report is initially reviewed by technical staff, and then by the board.

http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/enquetes-inves ... /e0163.pdf
The Board reviews the draft report: it may approve it, ask for minor amendments, or return it for further work. Once the draft report is approved, it is sent to designated reviewers on a confidential basis for comment. A designated reviewer may be any person—including a company, corporation, manufacturer or association—who, in the opinion of the Board, will contribute to the completeness and accuracy of the report.

The external review is required by section 24.2 of the TSB Act: http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts ... ml#docCont. Think of this external review as a matter of fairness. It gives reviewers an opportunity to identify erroneous or missing factual information, problems with logic, or disagree with findings.

In January 2012, the TSB identified a number of organizations assisting with the investigation:

http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/medias-media/p ... 120105.asp
... assistance is also being provided by the following organizations: Bradley Air Services Limited (First Air), Transport Canada, NAV CANADA, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Department of National Defence, The Boeing Company, Pratt and Whitney (engines), and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.

It is likely some of these organizations will be reviewing the confidential draft.

Following the external review, the report is again processed internally:

http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/enquetes-inves ... /e0163.pdf
The Board considers all the designated reviewers’ comments and amends the report as required. Once the Board approves the final report, it is released to the public on the TSB website and through traditional and social media.
The TSB publishes its investigation reports as quickly as possible, but it takes the time it needs to conduct a thorough investigation and produce a report that advances safety and meets the expectations of the Canadian public and the transportation industry.

All of this takes time. That's why it takes so long.