Accident description
Last updated: 22 May 2013
| Status: | Preliminary |
| Date: | 23 JAN 2013 |
| Time: | ca 22:00 |
| Type: | de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 |
| Operator: | Kenn Borek Air |
| Registration: | C-GKBC |
| C/n / msn: | 650 |
| First flight: | 1979-11-13 (33 years 3 months) |
| Engines: | 2 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Airplane damage: | Destroyed |
| Airplane fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | Queen Alexandra Range (Antarctica)
 |
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | South Pole-Amundsen-Scott Station, Antarctica |
| Terra Nova Bay-Zucchelli Station, Antarctica |
A de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter airplane was destroyed when it crashed into a steep snow- and ice-covered mountain slope at 3900 metres asl in the Queen Alexandra range in Antarctica. All three crew members were killed.
The airplane operated on a repositioning flight from Amundsen-Scott Station to the Zucchelli Station at Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica. There was a solid cloud cover in the area, with high winds of up to 170km/hr, and heavy snow. Search and rescue workers made visual contact with the plane's crash site late at night on January 25.
Preliminary investigation results indicate the accident was a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT).
Sources:
» Maritime New Zealand
» CBC
» CADORS
» TSB
Photos
Aircraft history
| date | registration | operator | remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 NOV 1979 | C-GKBC | de Havilland Canada | first flight |
| 30 NOV 1979 | C-GKBC | Kenn Borek Air | delivered |
| 19 FEB 1980 | N55921 | ARAMCO | leased |
| NOV 1983 | N55921 | Empire Airways | leased |
| JAN 1990 | N55921 | Empire Airlines | new name |
| 06 JAN 1992 | C-GKBC | Kenn Borek Air | returned |
| 22 MAY 1993 | C-GKBC | Harbour Air | leased |
| OCT 1993 | C-GKBC | Kenn Borek Air | returned |
| 13 MAY 1996 | C-GKBC | Harbour Air | leased |
| OCT 1996 | C-GKBC | Kenn Borek Air | returned |
| APR 1997 | C-GKBC | Harbour Air | leased |
| OCT 1997 | C-GKBC | Kenn Borek Air | returned |
| 15 SEP 2004 | C-GKBC | Maldivian Air Taxi | leased |
| 15 JAN 2005 | C-GKBC | Kenn Borek Air | returned |
| 12 APR 2010 | C-GKBC | Kenn Borek Air | settled back to terrain on take-off, sustaining substantial damage to the nosegear and fuselage |
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from South Pole-Amundsen-Scott Station to Terra Nova Bay-Zucchelli Station as the crow flies is 2238 km (1399 miles).
Distance from South Pole-Amundsen-Scott Station to Terra Nova Bay-Zucchelli Station as the crow flies is 2238 km (1399 miles).
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
