GATINEAU, QC, Jan. 8, 2013 /CNW/ - The Transportation Safety Board of
Canada (TSB) today released its investigation report (A11C0047) into
the 1 April 2011 crash of a CASA C-212 aerial survey aircraft, operated
by Fugro Aviation Canada, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
During a geophysical survey flight east of Saskatoon, an internal
component in the right engine of the Fugro CASA C-212 failed, causing
the engine to lose power. The crew of three then completed the engine
failure checklist, stowed the survey equipment and turned toward the
Saskatoon airport. Fourteen minutes later, with the aircraft just short
of the airport, the left engine lost power. The aircraft impacted a
concrete noise abatement wall as the crew executed a forced landing
adjacent to a road. The survey equipment operator was fatally injured,
the first officer was seriously injured, and the captain suffered minor
injuries. The aircraft was destroyed.
The left engine lost power due to fuel starvation. Investigators found
debris in a fuel pump nozzle, which reduced the amount of fuel the pump
delivered to the left collector tank. Fuel depletion in the left
collector tank caused the engine to shut down while usable fuel
remained in the left inboard tank. Additionally, the fuel crossfeed
valve remained closed, which meant that the left engine was only
receiving fuel from the left fuel tank, rather than from both tanks.
Following the accident, the company improved its CASA C-212
one-engine-inoperative emergency procedures and equipped similar
aircraft with a cockpit-operated cable cutter to immediately jettison
deployed survey equipment during an emergency. This will provide an
additional safety defense against fuel starvation and allow for better
aircraft performance when one engine is inoperative.
The TSB is an independent agency that investigates marine, pipeline,
railway and aviation transportation occurrences. Its sole aim is the
advancement of transportation safety. It is not the function of the
Board to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.
SOURCE: Transportation Safety Board of Canada
