Eastern Provincial Airways Flight 102
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia, Canada
 A Handley Page Herald similar to the one involved in the accident | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | March 17, 1965 |
| Summary | In-flight breakup caused by severe corrosion |
| Site |
|
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Handley Page HPR-7 Herald 202 |
| Operator | Eastern Provincial Airways |
| IATA flight No. | PV102 |
| ICAO flight No. | EPA102 |
| Call sign | PROVINCIAL102 |
| Registration | CF-NAF |
| Flight origin | Halifax Stanfield International Airport, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Destination | JA Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport, Reserve Mines, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Occupants | 8 |
| Passengers | 5 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Fatalities | 8 |
| Survivors | 0 |
On March 17, 1965, a Handley Page Dart Herald operating as Eastern Provincial Airways Flight 102 crashed into terrain during a domestic flight in Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia, Canada, killing all eight occupants. The crash was the first fatal incident involving a Handley Page Dart Herald, and the first accident of the type other than the crash of the prototype in 1958.[1][2]
Aircraft
The aircraft involved in the accident was CF-NAF, a Handley Page HPR-7 Herald 202 manufactured in 1962 and operated by Eastern Provincial Airways. It was powered by two Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop engines. At the time of the accident, the aircraft had accumulated a total of 4,135 fight hours.[3][4]
The maintenance history of the aircraft showed no evidence of structural damage or damage to the engines or flight controls. Only the occurrence of vibrations in the tail was noted.[4]
Passengers and crew
Five passengers and three crew members were on board. The crew were the 45-year-old pilot, 42-year-old co-pilot and a flight attendant. The pilot logged 20,200 hours of flight hours, while the co-pilot logged 11,960, including over 1,000 on the Handley Page Dart Herald.[4]
Weather
On the day of the accident, weather conditions were favorable. Visibility at Halifax Airport was 20 miles (approximately 32 kilometers). The temperature was 26 °F (approximately -3 °C), with scattered clouds at an altitude of 12,000 feet (approximately 3,660 meters). The wind was blowing from 30 degrees at 14 miles per hour (approximately 22.5 km/h). There was no significant wind shear in the region, so only minor turbulence was expected along the flight path.[4]
Flight and crash
The aircraft took off on a domestic flight from Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Goffs, Nova Scotia, Canada, en route to JA Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport in Reserve Mines, Nova Scotia, with several intermediate stops. They were scheduled to land at Sydney Airport at around 9:59 a.m. As the aircraft climbed from 11,500 to 12,000 feet near Musquodoboit, 26 miles northeast of Halifax Stanfield International Airport, following an uneventful flight, it suddenly broke up within seconds. 19 witnesses on the ground later testified that they heard an unusual, loud noise and saw the tail section and then the cockpit section break off from an aircraft flying eastward before the wreckage crashed to the ground at 9:22 a.m. local time, within 45 to 60 seconds. The wreckage landed in a densely wooded area. All eight occupants were killed.[3][4][5]