Narrative:
WestJet Encore flight 3107, a DHC-8-400, suffered a nose landing gear collapse on landing at Terrace Airport, Canada. It was snowing at the time of the accident.
During the landing roll on runway 33, the aircraft departed the cleared area of the runway to the left, contacted a windrow, travelled partially off the runway surface, returned to the runway and stopped. The damage to the aircraft included the nose wheel collapsing and damage to the right propeller blades.
The aircraft was ferried to Kelowna on May 27 and resumed service after final repairs on June 10, 2020.
Findings as to causes and contributing factors
1. Given the falling snow and the snow-covered runway, there were limited visual cues available to the flight crew, which decreased their ability to accurately judge the aircrafts lateral position once it was beyond the threshold.
2. Snow clearing operations cleared the centre 100 feet of the runway, which resulted in windrows that were approximately 18 inches high along the edges of the cleared area. This reduced the pilots lateral manoeuvring room during the landing.
3. The aircraft initially touched down 10 feet left of the centreline due to control inputs and variable wind conditions and, while the aircraft was still in a light weight-on-wheels condition, a gust contributed to a further deviation to the left until the left main landing gear came into contact with the windrow.
4. As the left main landing gear impacted the windrow, the drag on that landing gear caused the aircraft to pull to the left, causing the nose and right main landing gear to also come into contact with the windrow.
5. During the runway excursion, snow and ice became packed in the nose landing gear bay and caused structural deformation. Consequently, the nose landing gear was no longer being held in place and collapsed rearward into the fuselage, causing substantial damage to the aircraft.
CYXT 010400Z 35015G24KT 3/4SM -SN VV003 00/M00 A2903 RMK SN8 /S05/ SLP841
05:00 UTC / 21:00 local time:
CYXT 010500Z 03009KT 3/4SM -SN VV003 00/M00 A2903 RMK SN8 SLP841
05:23 UTC / 21:23 local time:
CYXT 010523Z 02010KT 3/4SM -SN VV003 00/M00 A2903 RMK SN8 SLP839
06:00 UTC / 22:00 local time:
CYXT 010600Z 35009G15KT 1SM -SN OVC010 00/00 A2905 RMK SN5SC3 /S08/ PRESRR SLP848
accident date: 31-01-2020
type: Bombardier DHC-8-402Q Dash 8
registration: C-FKWE
accident date: 31-01-2020
type: Bombardier DHC-8-402Q Dash 8
registration: C-FKWE
| Status: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
| Date: | Friday 31 January 2020 |
| Time: | 21:06 |
| Type: |  Bombardier DHC-8-402Q Dash 8 |
| Operator: | WestJet Encore |
| Registration: | C-FKWE |
| MSN: | 4467 |
| First flight: | 2014 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 13404 |
| Engines: | 2 Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150A |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 43 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 47 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Aircraft fate: | Repaired |
| Location: | Terrace Airport, BC (YXT) ( Canada)
|
| Phase: | Landing (LDG) |
| Nature: | Domestic Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Vancouver International Airport, BC (YVR/CYVR), Canada |
| Terrace Airport, BC (YXT/CYXT), Canada | |
| Flightnumber: | WS3107 |
WestJet Encore flight 3107, a DHC-8-400, suffered a nose landing gear collapse on landing at Terrace Airport, Canada. It was snowing at the time of the accident.
During the landing roll on runway 33, the aircraft departed the cleared area of the runway to the left, contacted a windrow, travelled partially off the runway surface, returned to the runway and stopped. The damage to the aircraft included the nose wheel collapsing and damage to the right propeller blades.
The aircraft was ferried to Kelowna on May 27 and resumed service after final repairs on June 10, 2020.
Probable Cause:
Findings as to causes and contributing factors
1. Given the falling snow and the snow-covered runway, there were limited visual cues available to the flight crew, which decreased their ability to accurately judge the aircrafts lateral position once it was beyond the threshold.
2. Snow clearing operations cleared the centre 100 feet of the runway, which resulted in windrows that were approximately 18 inches high along the edges of the cleared area. This reduced the pilots lateral manoeuvring room during the landing.
3. The aircraft initially touched down 10 feet left of the centreline due to control inputs and variable wind conditions and, while the aircraft was still in a light weight-on-wheels condition, a gust contributed to a further deviation to the left until the left main landing gear came into contact with the windrow.
4. As the left main landing gear impacted the windrow, the drag on that landing gear caused the aircraft to pull to the left, causing the nose and right main landing gear to also come into contact with the windrow.
5. During the runway excursion, snow and ice became packed in the nose landing gear bay and caused structural deformation. Consequently, the nose landing gear was no longer being held in place and collapsed rearward into the fuselage, causing substantial damage to the aircraft.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Classification:
Runway excursion (veer-off)
Sources:
» TSB A20P0013METAR Weather report:
04:00 UTC / 20:00 local time:CYXT 010400Z 35015G24KT 3/4SM -SN VV003 00/M00 A2903 RMK SN8 /S05/ SLP841
05:00 UTC / 21:00 local time:
CYXT 010500Z 03009KT 3/4SM -SN VV003 00/M00 A2903 RMK SN8 SLP841
05:23 UTC / 21:23 local time:
CYXT 010523Z 02010KT 3/4SM -SN VV003 00/M00 A2903 RMK SN8 SLP839
06:00 UTC / 22:00 local time:
CYXT 010600Z 35009G15KT 1SM -SN OVC010 00/00 A2905 RMK SN5SC3 /S08/ PRESRR SLP848
Photos
accident date: 31-01-2020
type: Bombardier DHC-8-402Q Dash 8
registration: C-FKWE
accident date: 31-01-2020
type: Bombardier DHC-8-402Q Dash 8
registration: C-FKWE
Video, social media
Id say the landing gear was fully collapsed pic.twitter.com/ITTVXfFzae
— DirtbankApp (@DirtbankApp) February 1, 2020
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 Vancouver International Airport, BC to Terrace Airport, BC as the crow flies is 688 km (430 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
Distance from Vancouver International Airport, BC to Terrace Airport, BC as the crow flies is 688 km (430 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
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.
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