A list of deadly plane crashes in Canada’s North since 1980

Four passengers and two crew members are dead after a plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Fort Smith, N.W.T.  A lone survivor was taken to hospital. The flight had been heading from the town on the Alberta boundary to Rio Tinto’s Diavik diamond mine, about 300 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife. 

The Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives says there have been at least seven crashes that resulted in five or more fatalities in Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut since 1980: 

Aug. 20, 2011 

A First Air charter flight from Yellowknife to Resolute, Nunavut, crashed into a hill during approach for its landing, killing 12 of the 15 people on board.

A Transportation Safety Board investigation blamed a combination of autopilot malfunction, faulty compass reading and disagreement between the pilots.

Dec. 3, 1993

An Arctic Wings and Rotors flight from Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T., heading to Inuvik reported engine problems four minutes after takeoff and failed to return to the airport.

The wreckage was found three hours later on an ice-covered lake 13 kilometres southeast of the hamlet, with the pilot and six passengers dead.

Oct. 30, 1991 

A resupply plane from Greenland crashed 16 kilometres south of Alert in what is now Nunavut, while on approach at night, killing four Canadian military personnel on impact.

A rescue operation saved 13 of the 18 people on board who were not reached by rescuers for 32 hours. One person died while awaiting rescue.

Sep. 22, 1989 

Five people were killed when a flight encountered fog on final approach to Sachs Harbour in the Northwest Territories.

The bureau says the limited visibility resulted in the plane crashing into a lake 600 metres short of the runway, killing all on board.

Aug. 21, 1989

A float plane carrying vacationing fishermen, including one from Finland, crashed on takeoff on the eastern end of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories, killing all six on board.

Police said at the time the passengers were enroute to Yellowknife to catch a commercial flight to Edmonton, and the plane banked on takeoff and crashed into the lake.

Nov. 12, 1986

A charter flight crashed shortly after takeoff from Rankin Inlet, today part of Nunavut, killing all five occupants.

A newspaper report said the plane was carrying a two-member crew as well as a Catholic bishop, priest and nun when it crashed.

Oct. 9, 1984

According to records from the non-profit Aviation Safety Network, a scheduled flight from Tulita to Fort Franklin in the Northwest Territories encountered fog and low visibility while on landing approach.

The records say the pilot’s decision to continue the approach resulted in the plane striking a telecommunications tower and crashing, killing all seven people on the flight.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2024.

The Canadian Press