Air transportation safety investigation A22C0093

Aft fuselage strike on landing

Perimeter Aviation LP
de Havilland DHC-8-314, C-GJYZ
Sandy Lake Airport, Ontario
19 October 2022

View final report

The occurrence

On 19 October 2022 at 2130 Central Daylight Time, the Perimeter Aviation LP de Havilland DHC-8-314 (registration C-GJYZ, serial number 368) aircraft departed Pikangikum Airport, Ontario, on an instrument flight rules flight to Sandy Lake Airport, Ontario, with 3 crew members and 28 passengers on board.

At 2158 Central Daylight Time, during the nighttime landing on Runway 29, the aircraft’s main landing gear made contact with the runway approximately 350 feet past the runway threshold. The aircraft bounced and briefly became airborne again as the first officer, who was the pilot flying, attempted to continue the landing. He pitched the aircraft up in an attempt to soften the ensuing touchdown. After the aircraft touched down firmly for a 2nd time, he indicated that he would go-around and began increasing the throttles. The captain, who was the pilot monitoring, noticed that an aft fuselage strike had occurred and took control of the aircraft, bringing the throttles to idle. He completed the landing roll with approximately 1600 feet of runway remaining and proceeded to taxi normally to the apron.

There were no confirmed injuries. There was significant damage to the lower aft fuselage structure of the aircraft.

Media materials

News release

Investigation information

Map showing the location of the occurrence

Investigator-in-charge

Mr. Vermette is the Manager, Central Region Operations for the TSB Air Investigation Branch and is based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He joined the TSB in 2014 and holds a current airline transport pilot’s license and has accumulated over 5000 hours of flight time on various jet and propeller aircraft.

Prior to joining the TSB, Mr. Vermette worked for over 13 years in civil aviation including experience as a training pilot and as a check pilot. He also has over 5 years of experience as Chief Pilot in CAR 703, 704 and 705 operations. Mr. Vermette has flown in all parts of Canada and the USA and has extensive medevac flying experience.

Class of investigation

This is a class 3 investigation. These investigations analyze a small number of safety issues, and may result in recommendations. Class 3 investigations are generally completed within 450 days. For more information, see the Policy on Occurrence Classification.

TSB investigation process

There are 3 phases to a TSB investigation

1. Field phase: a team of investigators examines the occurrence site and wreckage, interviews witnesses and collects pertinent information.
2. Examination and analysis phase: the TSB reviews pertinent records, tests components of the wreckage in the lab, determines the sequence of events and identifies safety deficiencies. When safety deficiencies are suspected or confirmed, the TSB advises the appropriate authority without waiting until publication of the final report.
3. Report phase: a confidential draft report is approved by the Board and sent to persons and corporations who are directly concerned by the report. They then have the opportunity to dispute or correct information they believe to be incorrect. The Board considers all representations before approving the final report, which is subsequently released to the public.

For more information, see our Investigation process page.

The TSB is an independent agency that investigates air, marine, pipeline, and rail transportation occurrences. Its sole aim is the advancement of transportation safety. It is not the function of the Board to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.