A Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftan’s loss of power and emergency landing on a Calgary roadway has prompted safety warnings from Canada’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB).
A Piper PA-31-350 aircraft comes to a stop on a Calgary roadway after an emergency landing on April 25, 2018. Transportation Safety Board of Canada Photo
The aircraft, operated by Super T Aviation of Medicine Hat, Alta., touched down in the northbound lanes of 36 Street N.E. in Calgary, near Calgary International Airport (YYC), just before 6 a.m. on April 25, 2018.
There were no injuries to passengers, flight crew or anyone on the ground, but the aircraft’s right wing clipped a light standard on the right side of the road, shearing off the outer four feet of the wing, the TSB found.
The incident was photographed and caused a considerable stir on social media and in the mainstream press.
TSB said it conducted a limited-scope, fact-gathering investigation into the incident to “advance transportation safety through greater awareness of potential safety issues.”The aircraft departed Medicine Hat Airport at 4:44 a.m. local time on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan to YYC with two flight crew and four passengers on board for a scheduled charter flight, according to the TSB investigation report.
After climbing to a cruising altitude of 8,000 feet above sea level, the crew completed the cruise checklist, which included switching the fuel selectors from inboard to outboard fuel cells, the TSB said.
A descent began at 5:35 a.m., when the aircraft was about 20 nautical miles southeast of the threshold for Runway 35R at YYC.
At 5:38 a.m., when the aircraft was approximately 12 nautical miles south of Runway 35R, the right engine began to surge, said the report.The captain then asked the first officer to run the engine failure in-flight checklist and the first officer performed them–with the exception of the cause check and feathering the propeller, said the report.
Among other things, the cause check directs the crew to check fuel flow, fuel quantity and fuel selector position.
At 5:39 a.m., the crew contacted the arrival controller at YYC and said they had lost the right fuel pump, and at approximately 5:40 a.m. the left engine began to surge, according to the report.
The aircraft was transferred to the tower controller at 5:42 a.m., and moments later the flight crew transmitted a Mayday call, the report found.