The pilots of a De Havilland Dash 8 cargo flight aimed to reduce the risk of runway overrun at a remote northern Canadian airstrip last spring. Instead, they encountered a downdraft and landed short, shearing off the left main landing gear and damaging the aircraft, according to a newly released Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) report.
On March 30, 2024, the Air Inuit DHC-8-314, operating as a daytime cargo flight under instrument rules, departed La Grande Rivière Airport (CYGL) bound for Kangiqsujuaq (Wakeham Bay) Airport (CYKG) in northern Quebec. The two pilots and cargo agent onboard thankfully did not receive any injuries, despite significant damage to the Dash 8 on landing.
Descent Below Glide Path
Weather at CYKG began deteriorating as the flight neared its destination. There was snowy weather as winds reached 24 knots and visibility dropped to half a mile with a 300 foot ceiling. With no visual glide slope indicators at the gravel airstrip, the crew opted for a pilot-monitored approach using RNAV (GNSS) to Runway 15. The Dash 8 descended on profile and maintained a stable approach until the final minute of flight.
At about one nautical mile out, the aircraft was 80 feet high and left of course. The pilot flying was a first officer with just 13 hours on type. After receiving some guidance from the captain, the captain took control during the final descent and maintained a visual descent angle of 3 degrees, selecting an aiming point just beyond the threshold to maximize available runway.
Although a common practice, this technique placed the aircraft below the published glide path. The aircraft encountered a strong downdraft at about 450 feet away from the runway threshold prompting the captain to pitch the nose-up and add power, but the actions were unable to overcome the descent.
Landing Gear Collapse
Following the downdraft, the Dash 8’s wheels struck a gravel mound about 220 feet before the runway threshold. The left wheel touched down roughly five inches below runway level, and the impact caused the left landing gear strut cylinder to fracture. The assembly separated from the aircraft as it bounced onto the runway, coming to a stop 2,100 feet down the strip. The left nacelle, propeller, and fuselage also sustained damage.
The TSB said it found the accident resulted from a combination of factors. These included the selection of a runway threshold aiming point, the final descent below glide path, and wind-induced downdrafts common to the rugged terrain surrounding CYKG.
Updates to Operator’s Training and Procedures
Air Inuit said it updated its safety procedures following the accident. According to the report, the airline acknowledged that its pilots commonly landed near runway thresholds on short gravel runways, and the company has since issued updates to its landing criteria. It also said it took steps to clarify the risks of short landings and to retrain its pilots on landing distance calculations and descent geometry. The airline’s new training materials include illustrations of safe touchdown zones, along with revised guidance on eye-to-wheel height calculations for the Dash 8 and other types in the fleet.
Thankfully nobody got hurt in this instance. Even so, airline-or-airframe-specific training aside, in a similar situation, well before we encounter something like a downdraft, an unsteady approach in low visibility conditions forcing us to dip below glide path should, at the very least, have every one of us humming that classic banger to ourselves … “You can always go around!”
