Buffalo Airways plane crashes outside Deline
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Monday, September 28, 2015
DELINE/FORT FRANKLIN
Four crew members escaped unharmed after a Buffalo Airways plane crash-landed in Deline over the noon hour on Sept. 25.
The Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando aircraft was on a cargo flight between Yellowknife and Norman Wells, according to Chris Krepski, spokesperson for the Transportation Safety Board.
"The flight experienced engine failure and diverted to Deline. The aircraft landed gear-up, however, there were no injuries to the four people aboard. The Transportation Safety Board has not deployed but is gathering information and assessing, Krepski said. He added he had no information on the condition of the aircraft itself.
Emergency crews at the Deline airport responded to the scene, according to Nick Hurst, spokesperson for the territorial government's Department of Transportation. Police also responded to the scene, according to an news release from the RCMP. A resident in Deline said the road to the airport was still blocked off as of 3:00 p.m.
According to the Buffalo Airways website, its two C-46 aircraft have been in service since 1945.
They can haul a load of up to 14,000 pounds of freight into short airstrips. It is not unclear exactly what the aircraft was transporting when it went down.
No information about the crew members has been released. Buffalo Airways has not responded to a request for comment as of press time.
