Détails:
Air Inuit flight 820, a DHC-8-314, suffered a tail strike on landing at Schefferville Airport, Canada. The aircraft had departed Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport (CYUL) at 07:06 hours local time on a multi-stop flight to Salluit. The accident occurred on the second leg, from Montréal to Schefferville.
Findings as to causes and contributing factors:
1. The pilots forgot to perform the descent checklist and realized this at an inopportune time, when the pilot monitoring was providing a position report.
2. Given the ambiguities and contradictions in the stabilized approach guidelines, the captain interpreted that he was allowed to continue the approach below 500 feet above aerodrome elevation although the flaps had not been set to 35° and the final checklist had not been completed.
3. Communicating with the flight attendant to confirm the cabin status and performing the descent checklist during final approach added to the pilots workload, which was already heavy.
4. The combination of the visual conditions and the plan continuation bias prompted the pilots to continue managing the height and speed deviations past the stabilized approach gate.
5. When the aircraft passed 500 feet above aerodrome elevation, the pilots, who were dealing with a heavy workload, passed the stabilized approach gate without noticing it and continued the approach, which was de facto unstable.
6. At the time of the flare, the aircraft no longer had enough energy to stop the rate of descent solely by increasing the pitch attitude.
7. The instinctive reaction to increase the pitch attitude, combined with the hard landing, resulted in the aft fuselage striking the runway, causing major damage to the aircrafts structure.
| Statuts: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
| Date: | lundi 20 janvier 2020 |
| Heure: | 11:09 |
| Type/Sous-type: |  de Havilland Canada DHC-8-314 Dash 8 |
| Compagnie: | Air Inuit |
| Immatriculation: | C-GXAI |
| Numéro de série: | 481 |
| Année de Fabrication: | 1997 |
| Heures de vol: | 39314 |
| Moteurs: | 2 Pratt & Whitney Canada PW123B |
| Equipage: | victimes: 0 / à bord: 3 |
| Passagers: | victimes: 0 / à bord: 42 |
| Total: | victimes: 0 / à bord: 45 |
| Dégats de l'appareil: | Substantiels |
| Conséquences: | Repaired |
| Lieu de l'accident: | Schefferville Airport, QC (YKL) ( Canada)
|
| Phase de vol: | A l'atterrissage (LDG) |
| Nature: | Transport de Passagers Nat. |
| Aéroport de départ: | Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport, QC (YQB/CYQB), Canada |
| Schefferville Airport, QC (YKL/CYKL), Canada | |
| Numéro de vol: | AIE820 |
Air Inuit flight 820, a DHC-8-314, suffered a tail strike on landing at Schefferville Airport, Canada. The aircraft had departed Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport (CYUL) at 07:06 hours local time on a multi-stop flight to Salluit. The accident occurred on the second leg, from Montréal to Schefferville.
Probable Cause:
Findings as to causes and contributing factors:
1. The pilots forgot to perform the descent checklist and realized this at an inopportune time, when the pilot monitoring was providing a position report.
2. Given the ambiguities and contradictions in the stabilized approach guidelines, the captain interpreted that he was allowed to continue the approach below 500 feet above aerodrome elevation although the flaps had not been set to 35° and the final checklist had not been completed.
3. Communicating with the flight attendant to confirm the cabin status and performing the descent checklist during final approach added to the pilots workload, which was already heavy.
4. The combination of the visual conditions and the plan continuation bias prompted the pilots to continue managing the height and speed deviations past the stabilized approach gate.
5. When the aircraft passed 500 feet above aerodrome elevation, the pilots, who were dealing with a heavy workload, passed the stabilized approach gate without noticing it and continued the approach, which was de facto unstable.
6. At the time of the flare, the aircraft no longer had enough energy to stop the rate of descent solely by increasing the pitch attitude.
7. The instinctive reaction to increase the pitch attitude, combined with the hard landing, resulted in the aft fuselage striking the runway, causing major damage to the aircrafts structure.
Accident investigation:
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Photos
Plan
Ce plan montre l'aéroport de départ ainsi que la supposée destination du vol. La ligne fixe reliant les deux aéroports n'est pas le plan de vol exact.
La distance entre Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport, QC et Schefferville Airport, QC est de 940 km (588 miles).
Accident location: Exact; deduced from official accident report.
La distance entre Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport, QC et Schefferville Airport, QC est de 940 km (588 miles).
Accident location: Exact; deduced from official accident report.
Les informations ci-dessus ne représentent pas l'opinion de la 'Flight Safety Foundation' ou de 'Aviation Safety Network' sur les causes de l'accident. Ces informations prélimimaires sont basées sur les faits tel qu'ils sont connus à ce jour.
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