Status: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Date: | Monday 13 January 1986 |
Time: | 09:15 |
Type: | Britten-Norman BN-2A-6 Islander |
Operator: | Borealis Exploration |
Registration: | C-GTPB |
MSN: | 223 |
First flight: | 1970-09-30 (15 years 4 months) |
Crew: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 |
Total: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
Aircraft fate: | Repaired |
Location: | Caribou Horn Lake, NT ( Canada)
|
Phase: | Takeoff (TOF) |
Nature: | Executive |
Departure airport: | ? |
Destination airport: | ? |
Narrative:The pilot commenced his take-off run from an ice airstrip. The aircraft tended to veer to the right, and the pilot used differential power to keep the aircraft straight. After a ground run of about 300 feet, the aircraft swung sharply to the right and struck a 45-gallon drum used as a runway marker. The aircraft came to rest 200 feet off the side of the runway.
The aircraft nosewheel had undergone an approved modification from a steerable configuration to a castoring, self-centering configuration. The aircraft had been parked for two nights on the ice strip in temperatures of minus 40 degrees Celsius, with the nosewheel turned to the right The temperature at the time of takeoff was minus 38 degrees Celsius. Because of the cold temperatures, the nosewheel assembly froze in the position it was in when the aircraft was parked, and the freezing was such that it rendered the self-centering mechanism ineffective.
This take-off was the pilot's first from an icestrip. He did not recognize that the aircraft's tendency to veer to the right was a result of the cocked nosewheel and thus continued the take-off attempt. Most of the damage to the aircraft occurred when its right propeller struck the 45-gallon drum being used as a runway marker.
Probable Cause:
FINDINGS:
Cause Related:
1. After the aircraft had been parked for an extended period in very cold temperatures, the nosewheel assembly froze with the wheel cocked to the right.
2. When the pilot attempted a take-off with the cocked nosewheel, he was unable to maintain directional control, and, as a result, the aircraft ran off the runway.
3. The aircraft collided with a 45-gallon drum used as a runway marker.
Sources:
» CASB 86-C60002
Photos
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.