Quebecair Flight 255 - Misplaced Pages

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Quebecair Flight 255
Accident
A Fairchild F-27 similar to the aircraft involved in the accident
Date	29 March 1979
Summary	Uncontained engine failure leading to engine separation and loss of control
Site	Quebec City
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Fairchild F-27
Operator	Quebecair
Registration	CF-QBL
Flight origin	Jean Lesage International Airport
Destination	Montreal
Passengers	21
Crew	3
Fatalities	17
Survivors	7

Quebecair Flight 255 was a scheduled flight from Quebec City to Montreal. On March 29, 1979, the Fairchild F-27, registered CF-QBL, that was operating the flight crashed minutes after takeoff when an engine exploded. All three crew and 14 of the 21 passengers died.

Crash

Following takeoff from Jean Lesage International Airport, the flight crew advised the control tower of a problem with their right engine. The plane was given clearance for an emergency landing. It circled the airport twice with flames emanating from one engine. The plane began the final turn in its landing sequence before crashing into a hillside. "I heard a loud explosion and rushed out and saw the plane in flames" one witness said.

Firemen arrived at the scene within minutes, but it was reported they were "unable to approach the burning wreckage for some time because of the extreme heat." Ambulances had difficulty reaching the accident site because they had to cross a railway line. "Most of the people were not dead. Several died during the first half-hour after the accident. There were limbs cut off. We had to be careful when we were moving them," one woman told journalists.

Investigation

The flight data recorders were recovered soon after the crash. Canadian investigators concluded that shortly after the twin-turboprop airliner lifted off, the low pressure impeller from the no. 2 engine burst, causing the forward part of the engine to separate. The flight crew were unable to raise the landing gear because debris from the engine damaged the electronic gear selection circuitry. This, together with the exposed engine, increased the aerodynamic drag dramatically, and the aircraft was unable to climb or maintain altitude during its final turn. The center of gravity shifted beyond its aft limit due to the engine separation and passenger movement, causing the airspeed to drop below the minimum control speed shortly before the aircraft struck the hillside.

References

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1979 (1979)
Jan 30 Varig Flight 967Feb 12 Air Rhodesia Flight 827Feb 17 Air New Zealand Flight 4374Mar 14 Alia Flight 600Mar 17 Aeroflot Flight 1691Mar 26 Interflug Ilyushin Il-18 crashMar 29 Quebecair Flight 255Apr 4 TWA Flight 841Apr 23 SAETA Flight 011May 25 American Airlines Flight 191May 30 Downeast Airlines Flight 46Jun 17 Air New England Flight 248Jun 20 American Airlines Flight 293Jul 11 Garuda Fokker F28 crashJul 26 Lufthansa Cargo Flight 527Jul 31 Dan-Air Flight 0034Aug 11 Dniprodzerzhynsk mid-air collisionAug 29 Aeroflot Flight 5484Sep 14 Aero Trasporti Italiani Flight 12Oct 7 Swissair Flight 316Oct 31 Western Airlines Flight 2605Nov 11 Manises UFO incidentNov 15 American Airlines Flight 444Nov 26 Pakistan International Airlines Flight 740Nov 28 Air New Zealand Flight 901Dec 18 Mosfellsheiði air crashesDec 23 Turkish Airlines Ankara crash
1978 ◄ ► 1980

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1979 (1979)

Jan 30 Varig Flight 967Feb 12 Air Rhodesia Flight 827Feb 17 Air New Zealand Flight 4374Mar 14 Alia Flight 600Mar 17 Aeroflot Flight 1691Mar 26 Interflug Ilyushin Il-18 crashMar 29 Quebecair Flight 255Apr 4 TWA Flight 841Apr 23 SAETA Flight 011May 25 American Airlines Flight 191May 30 Downeast Airlines Flight 46Jun 17 Air New England Flight 248Jun 20 American Airlines Flight 293Jul 11 Garuda Fokker F28 crashJul 26 Lufthansa Cargo Flight 527Jul 31 Dan-Air Flight 0034Aug 11 Dniprodzerzhynsk mid-air collisionAug 29 Aeroflot Flight 5484Sep 14 Aero Trasporti Italiani Flight 12Oct 7 Swissair Flight 316Oct 31 Western Airlines Flight 2605Nov 11 Manises UFO incidentNov 15 American Airlines Flight 444Nov 26 Pakistan International Airlines Flight 740Nov 28 Air New Zealand Flight 901Dec 18 Mosfellsheiði air crashesDec 23 Turkish Airlines Ankara crash

1978 ◄ ► 1980

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in Canada
1940s	American Airlines Flight 1 (October 1941) Saint-Donat RCAF Liberator III crash (October 1943) 1946 American Overseas Airlines Douglas DC-4 crash (October 1946) Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 108 (September 1949)
1950s	Douglas C-54D disappearance (January 1950) British Columbia B-36 crash (February 1950) Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 9 (May 1954) Convent Crash (May 1956) Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810 (December 1956) Maritime Central Airways Flight 315 (August 1957) Pan Am Flight 115 (February 1959)
1960s	Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 831 (November 1963) Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 21 (July 1965) ČSA Flight 523 (September 1967)
1970s	Air Canada Flight 621 (July 1970) American Airlines Flight 96 (June 1972) Panarctic Oils Flight 416 (October 1974) TWA Flight 355 (September 1976) Pacific Western Airlines Flight 314 (February 1978) Air Canada Flight 189 (June 1978) Quebecair Flight 255 (March 1979)
1980s	Gimli Glider (July 1983) Pacific Western Airlines Flight 501 (March 1984) Arrow Air Flight 1285R (December 1985) Air Ontario Flight 1363 (March 1989)
1990s	Air Canada Flight 646 (December 1997) Propair Flight 420 (June 1998) Swissair Flight 111 (September 1998)
2000s	Korean Air Flight 085 (September 2001) MK Airlines Flight 1602 (October 2004) Air France Flight 358 (August 2005) Cougar Helicopters Flight 91 (March 2009) Northwest Airlines Flight 253 (December 2009)
2010s	Conair CV-580 crash (July 2010) Missinippi Airways Cessna 208 crash (July 2011) First Air Flight 6560 (August 2011) Air Canada Flight 624 (March 2015) West Wind Aviation Flight 282 (December 2017) Sky Lease Cargo Flight 4854 (November 2018)
2020s	Toronto Pearson International Airport heist (April 2023) Northwestern Air Flight 738 (January 2024)

46°47′N 71°23′W / 46.783°N 71.383°W / 46.783; -71.383

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