Date:	Tuesday 11 January 1994
Time:	c. 18:50
Type:	Piper PA-31-310 Navajo
Owner/operator:	Trans-Côte
Registration:	C-GDOU
MSN:	31-7612033
Year of manufacture:	1976
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Category:	Accident
Location:	near Lourde-de-Blanc-Sablon, Strait of Belle-Isle, Quebec -   Canada
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Cargo
Departure airport:	St. Anthony, Newfoundland (YAY/CYAY)
Destination airport:	Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon, Quebec (YBX/CYBX)
Investigating agency:	TSB
Confidence Rating:	Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities

Narrative:
The crew departed St. Anthony, Newfoundland, on a night visual flight rules (VFR) flight to Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon, Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Côte-Nord, Quebec. Radio contact with the aircraft was lost after the crew reported that they were on final approach to their destination.

Aircraft parts matching C-GDOU were found on drift ice on 13 January 1994 by a Canadian Forces search and rescue helicopter. Sonar scanning failed to locate the main wreckage, but the aircraft tail and some other components were recovered by a scallop trawler in early August 1994. The bodies of the two occupants have not been found.

The aircraft was not recovered in its entirety. Only about 30 pieces and components were recovered from the ice surface by the crew of a Canadian Coast Guard vessel. The tail was brought to the surface by a trawler. With the small number of parts recovered, it was not possible to determine all the damage to the aircraft. However, with the parts available, it was established that the aircraft cabin broke up and that the fuselage was broken at the height of the rear door.

The Board was unable to determine the cause of the accident; however, it is probable that the pilots did not monitor the altimeter properly and allowed the aircraft to descend until it struck the surface of the ice.

1. CADORS 1994Q0017
2. TSB REPORT Aviation Investigation Report A94Q0002 at http://www.bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/1994/a94q0002/a94q0002.asp
3. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.baaa-acro.com/1994/archives/crash-of-a-piper-pa-31-navajo-chieftain-in-quebec-2-killed/]

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Sep-2008 01:00	ASN archive	Added
21-Jun-2015 21:48	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Nature, Source, Narrative]
21-Jun-2015 21:52	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative]
11-Oct-2017 00:46	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Aircraft type, Source]