A twin-engine plane sits in an area taped-off by police on 36th Street NE in Calgary on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. A small plane carrying six people made an emergency landing on a Calgary street on Wednesday morning. Police say the twin-engine plane was coming in from the south, heading for a landing at the Calgary airport, when a pilot radioed in that the aircraft was low on fuel. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
gslade@medicinehatnews.com @MHNGillianSlade
A Medicine Hat aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing on a Calgary street and is under investigation by the Transportation Safety Board (TSB), a spokesperson confirmed.
The Piper Navajo twin engine aircraft C-FCWW, owned by Super T Management Ltd/Super T Aviation Academy operating out of Medicine Hat Airport, made an emergency landing in Calgary about 5:45 a.m.
The emergency was “due to a loss of power of unknown cause,” said a press release from Super T.
The aircraft landed “short of runway 35R of Calgary International” and landed on 36 Street N.E. between 12 Avenue and 16 Avenue, said Alex Fournier, spokesperson for the TSB.
Super T’s CEO, Terri Super, confirmed everyone on board, two pilots and four passengers are safe. They were examined by EMS at the scene and released.
Super declined to comment on what might have contributed to the emergency landing.
“We’re going to be talking to TSB and they will be investigating,” said Super.
In a press release Wednesday afternoon Super said the TSB will be interviewing all passengers and pilots involved.
The crew and passenger manifest has not been released yet.
“The TSB will not release any information on the passengers and crew,” said Fournier.
How long it took after the crew declared an emergency and actually landed the aircraft, Fournier declined to say. It is also not known whether the crew was extremely lucky in timing, with little traffic on that road, or whether arrangements were made in advance for emergency crews to block the path of traffic.
“All we can say is that no injuries were reported … we really can’t speculate on the cause of the emergency landing,” said Fournier.
There are some potential scenarios that may have contributed to the situation.
“An engine failure that had complications or fuel starvation,” said Ray Rohr a retired pilot, formerly the director of regulatory affairs for International Business Aviation Council Ltd.
Rohr says in a twin engine aircraft it is possible to continue flying even if one engine quits.
“In a Navajo if one engine quits (with) the other engine you can maintain level flight at the altitude that the aircraft was at,” said Rohr noting you would not have to make an emergency landing if only one engine failed.
Another possibility would be fuel contamination and that would affect both engines, said Rohr.
According to a CBC report, based on a recording, the pilot radioed the control tower to report a problem with the plane.
“I’ve just lost the right fuel pump, that’s why we’re requesting 35 right,” the pilot can be heard saying on the recording, CBC News reports.
The TSB is an independent agency that investigates marine, pipeline, railway and aviation transportation occurrences but is does not assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability, according to information on its website.
An official flight plan must be filed with NAV Canada before a flight take place. Information submitted includes the planned route to destination, estimated duration for the flight, an alternative aerodrome(s) if required and the endurance capability of the aircraft based on fuel load. The News requested a copy of the flight plan for the Super T aircraft in question. This was not made available.
According to media reports and photographs there was minor damage to the wing tips of the aircraft after landing on the road, the wings having clipped light standards.
Super acknowledged in a press release the “actions of the pilots to ensure a safe landing and is grateful that there were no injuries to those on board or on the ground”.
“Our primary concern at this time is the wellbeing of all those involved in this incident,” said Super in a press release. “Super T Aviation will be cooperating fully with the Transportation Safety Board in their investigation to determine a cause.”
According to online information the official flight plan estimated departure from Medicine Hat at 4:45 a.m. MDT on Wednesday with an estimated arrival at Calgary International airport at 5:46 a.m. MDT.
This Piper Navajo aircraft had recently made the return trip to Calgary a couple of times, on April 11, again on April 18 and then on April 25.
#yyc emergency landing engine failure 36 st NE. 6 people on board no injuries. What a landing! pic.twitter.com/V7YJawdBkH
