Blowing snow, winds at root of 2016 Gander Airport runway crash: TSB

An Air Canada Express flight drifted towards the right edge of a runway and struck compacted snow before breaking up in a crash at the Gander Airport in 2016, aTransportation Safety Board investigation has revealed.

Board investigators say blowing snow and gusty crosswinds contributed to the crash of an airplane operated by Exploits Valley Air Services at the Gander Airport during a storm on April 20, 2016.

• FULL REPORT:Gusty winds and blowing snow led to April 2016 nose landing gear collapse at Gander International Airport

The Beechraft B1900airplane, which was carrying 14 passengers and two crew, touched down on the right side of a runway in Gander. According to the TSB, it almost immediately veered further to the right and one of its landing gear struck a 10-inch bank of compacted snow.

That landing gear was damaged, the nose of the aircraft dropped towards the ground, and the propellers of the aircraft struck the ground, leading a number of the blades to break off of the aircraft. One of the blades plunged into the aircraft'scabin wall.

• Passengers feared for their lives in Gander crash landing

"Blowing snow made it difficult to identify the runway centreline markings, and that the situation was exacerbated by the absence of centreline lighting and a possible visual illusion caused by the blowing snow," the TSB said in a news release on Wednesday.

Three of the plane's passengers were injured during the crash.

"Most of the injuries sustained by passengers were consistent with the upper body flailing forward due to longitudinal forces while jackknifing around the lap belt and hitting either the back of the forward seat or another surface," the TSB wrote.

'Lack of consideration'

The Transportation Safety Board also said the pilots of the EVAS aircraft did not properly consider all the risks on the flight from Goose Bay to Gander.

"Neither pilot had considered that the combination of landing at night, in reduced visibility, with a crosswind and blowing snow, on a runway with no centreline lighting, was a hazard that may create additional risks," the TSB said."The crew also did not recognize that the gusty crosswind conditions had caused the aircraft to drift to the right during landing."

Gander crash landing: Eyewitness video

9 years ago

Duration 0:14

Passenger Kris Ralph shared this video of Exploits Valley Air Services flight that had a hard landing at Gander International Airport

The crew wasnot aware that other airline carriers had cancelled their fights to Gander when they decided to proceed with the flight that night, investigators wrote.

The plane took off from Goose Bay, even though the visibility in Gander at the time was not at the level required fortheir landing approach, with the expectation that it would improve by the time the plane arrived in Gander, which it did.

During the flight, the plane's first officer decided he was not comfortable conducting the landing during the weather, and the captain took over.

• Air Canada Express passenger says plane spun out after Gander crash landing

Both pilots had more than a thousand hours in flying experience, and the TSB said there is no evidence that fatigue was a factor.

Snow clearing crews at the Gander Airport had cleared the runway to a width of about 120 feet. The TSB called that "sufficient for most aircraft."