In the Northwest Territories, the Northwestern Air Lease aircraft crashed. Less than 48 hours have passed after the tragic ski-helicopter incident.
Canadian officials report that on Tuesday morning, in the Northwest Territories, near the Albertan border and the city of Fort Smith, a British Aerospace Jetstream aircraft, owned by the nearby company Northwestern Air Lease, went down. The head of the Northwest Territories coroner’s office declared on Wednesday that two crew members and four passengers had died. There was only one survivor, and that individual was sent to Stanton Hospital in Yellowknife. We don’t know the survivor’s current health status.
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At Fort Smith Regional Airport, the aircraft crashed soon after takeoff, roughly 500 meters from the end of the runway. Northwestern Air Lease is a minor airline with two aircraft that can accommodate up to 19 people each. Two Hercules planes and a Twin Otter were dispatched by the Royal Canadian Air Force to the region. The wreckage of the aircraft was found after a ground search by the Canadian Rangers, a reserve army force, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The airplane was its route to the Rio Tinto-owned Diavik diamond mine, situated around 186 miles northeast of Yellowknife.
A group of investigators from Canada’s Transportation Safety Bureau visited the scene of the collision. The tragedy’s cause is yet unknown. “We are working closely with authorities and will help in any way we can with their efforts to find out exactly what has happened,” Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm said in a condolence statement to the families.
