Air Canada Douglas DC-8 accident near Ottawa

The Air Canada Douglas DC-8 accident near Ottawa occurred on 19 May 1967. On that day, during a training flight of an Air Canada Douglas DC-8F-54 "Jet Trader" (CF-TJM) from Montreal-Dorval Airport to Ottawa Airport, control was lost, whereupon the aircraft crashed in an inverted attitude. All three crew members on board were killed in the accident.

Accident sequence

On that day the aircraft was being used for a conversion training flight, in which the DC-8 was to be flown from Montréal to Ottawa. The aircraft took off at 18:02 on an instrument flight, which was continued as a visual flight upon reaching the Ottawa area. After a simulated hydraulic failure, a touch-and-go manoeuvre was carried out on runway 32 at 18:25. The flight data recorder recordings evaluated later showed that the manoeuvre was flown with the ailerons in manual mode. The lift devices were set to 25 degrees before the aircraft was pulled up. After the aircraft had lifted off again and was flying a turn onto a heading of 260 degrees, the ailerons were returned to hydraulically boosted mode. After approximately two minutes on the downwind leg, engine No. 4 was retarded to idle and left in this position for approximately two minutes and 15 seconds.

During this period a left bank angle of about 3 degrees on average was maintained, until a point roughly in the middle of this period when the aircraft slowly banked 18 degrees to the left, followed by an abrupt rolling motion to the right to 10 degrees. The length of the downwind leg was consistent with a planned asymmetric two-engine landing. Engine No. 4 was advanced again shortly before a left turn onto the base leg was initiated. During this turn, engine No. 4 was again retarded and then advanced back to normal power. Engine No. 1 was then retarded for about 20 seconds and then advanced back to normal power. The landing flaps remained at the 25-degree setting. As he turned onto final approach, the pilot in command informed the tower that he had not yet decided whether he would carry out a landing.

When the aircraft passed over the UP beacon at a distance of approximately 8.5 miles from the runway threshold and approximately 200 seconds before impact, the rudder was switched to manual mode and the power of all four engines was reduced. Engine No. 4 was then moved to the idle position and the other three engines to the approach thrust setting. Approximately 171 seconds before impact, the pilot in command informed the control tower that he would land the aircraft. The landing gear was extended 155 seconds before impact, and 120 seconds before impact engine No. 3 was retarded to idle, while at the same time the power of engines No. 1 and 2 was increased. At this point the aircraft was at a height of 1,150 feet above the ground and the indicated airspeed was relatively constant at 165 knots (approx. 306 km/h). Between 109 and 92 seconds before impact, a 34-degree right turn onto a heading of 337 degrees was flown. Engine power was reduced again, a bank angle was assumed and the aircraft returned approximately to the approach centreline. About 69 seconds before impact the lift devices were extended to 35 degrees; 54 seconds before impact the rudder was switched to hydraulic mode for less than 6 seconds and then returned to manual mode. During the period from 69 to 25 seconds before impact the rate of descent was relatively constant at about 700 feet per minute, whereby at this rate of descent the aircraft tended to touch down on the ground short of the runway, and the airspeed decreased from 163 to 152 kt. The power of engines No. 1 and 2 was gradually increased from 25 seconds before impact until near-maximum power was reached eight seconds before impact, whereupon the engines were retarded to idle again. 19 seconds before impact the aircraft began to yaw to the right; seven seconds later thrust was applied to engines 3 and 4. Nine seconds before impact and at an altitude of about 200 feet above the ground, the attitude with a left bank angle could no longer be held. The aircraft rolled to the right. Roll and yaw angles increased considerably. The further rolling of the aircraft to the right …