The crash of an air-taxi Rockwell 690B turboprop twin that resulted in the death of the sole-occupant pilot was the only Canadian-registered business turbine airplane fatal accident last year, according to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada's latest annual report of aircraft incidents and accidents.
On Aug. 16, 2021, the aircraft began its takeoff roll on Runway 12 at Thunder Bay Airport, Ontario. Immediately after rotation, the aircraft entered an extreme bank to the left, continued to roll, and then struck the surface of Runway 7 in an inverted attitude. The pilot was killed and the aircraft was destroyed.
In addition to that fatal accident, there were 17 nonfatal air-taxi accidents in Canada last year involving non-turbofan-powered aircraft—10 airplanes and seven helicopters. “These 18 air-taxi accidents are more than the 13 seen in 2020,” the report says. “But they remain well below the average of 28 accidents per year occurring between 2011 and 2020.”
A single nonfatal turboprop accident was the only major mishap among those involving privately-operated turbine airplanes last year. On Oct. 10, 2021, a Daher TBM 700N was concluding an IFR flight to Westlock Airport, Alberta. During landing, the aircraft touched down hard on the right main landing gear, bounced, dragged the right wingtip, and rolled inverted. The pilot sustained serious injuries and the three passengers received minor injuries.
