Fiery Oro-Medonte plane crash determined an accident by TSB

Last month’s fiery plane crash at Lake Simcoe Regional Airport occurred after the plane’s landing gear was not extended during its approach, says a report from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB).

On Aug. 13, a Beech B100 aircraft travelled from Pearson International Airport to Lake Simcoe Regional Airport for a pilot proficiency check flight, with two pilots and a check pilot aboard the plane.

During the flight, the check pilot sat on a divan behind the two pilots “so that he could observe the flight crew and flight instruments” during the training flight, said the TSB report. The check pilot sat in a forward-facing seat at the rear of the plane during takeoff and landing, where he could wear a seatbelt.

The flight included a simulated engine failure, the report said, with plans to “continue to a full stop landing” at the Oro-Medonte airport. 

With the approach “proceeding normally,”  the check pilot went to sit at the back of the plane “once the crew had become established on their final approach path,” but the flight went awry as the plane began to land.

“Although the before landing checklist was conducted, the landing gear was not extended during the approach, and the propellers contacted the runway during the landing flare, after which the engine nacelles and the rear fuselage contacted the runway,” the report said.

“The aircraft slid to a stop on the runway approximately 2,500 feet after the first propeller strike.”

After coming to a stop, the crew “observed smoke and an electrical smell” coming from the plane’s instrument panel, at which point they shut down the plane and used an on-board fire extinguisher in a bid to prevent a fire.

However, when the smoke “increased in intensity,” the three crew members exited the plane, with flames becoming visible within a few minutes. Though the fire department attended the scene and extinguished the fire, significant damage was done to the plane as “the entire upper fuselage and aircraft interior was consumed by fire.”

None of three crew members was injured during the crash, which TSB has classed as an accident, although the plane was destroyed.

Lake Simcoe Regional Airport was closed for roughly nine hours after the crash took place, as TSB carried out its investigation and the plane was removed from the tarmac, with Oro-Medonte township officials estimating $3-4 million in damages at the time.

TSB’s investigation was classed as a Class 5 investigation, meaning no formal, comprehensive investigation or report will be produced as a result of the incident. 

The TSB report shared with OrilliaMatters states the information it contains is preliminary and subject to change.