Northwestern Air Flight 738

On 23 January 2024, Northwestern Air Flight 738, a British Aerospace Jetstream, was chartered by the Rio Tinto Group to carry mine workers from Fort Smith to the Diavik Diamond Mine, located around 300 km (190 mi) northeast of Yellowknife.^[1][2] The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff, 1,200 m (3,900 ft) from the runway near Fort Smith Airport, killing six of the seven passengers and crew.^[3][4][5][6] The only survivor was taken to the Fort Smith Health Centre and was later airlifted to the Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife for further treatment.^[1][7]

Northwestern Air Flight 738

C-FNAA, the aircraft involved in the accident seen almost 4 years before the accident
Accident
Date	23 January 2024 (2024-01-23)
Summary	Collision with terrain, under investigation
Site	near Fort Smith Airport, Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, South Slave Region, Canada 60°1′42.64″N 111°59′50.80″W
Aircraft
Aircraft type	British Aerospace Jetstream 32
Operator	Northwestern Air
IATA flight No.	J3738
ICAO flight No.	PLR738
Call sign	POLARIS 738
Registration	C-FNAA
Flight origin	Fort Smith Airport
Destination	Diavik Diamond Mine Airport
Occupants	7
Passengers	5
Crew	2
Fatalities	6
Injuries	1
Survivors	1

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a BAe-3212 Jetstream Super 31, MSN 929, registered as C-FNAA, manufactured by British Aerospace in 1991.^[6] The aircraft had suffered a previous incident on 1 April 2019 where it departed the runway while landing at Fort Chipewyan, Canada.

Accident

Shortly after taking off from runway 30, the aircraft reached a maximum altitude of 140 feet and ground speed of 160 knots, then entered into a descent from which it did not recover, hitting trees around 938 m from the runway and crashed 1265 m from the end of the runway and 98 m left of the center-line.^[8] After the crash, an extensive post-crash fire broke out, which destroyed 80% of the wreckage. The sole survivor was ejected from the aircraft during the accident sequence and suffered minor injuries.^[9]

Investigation

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada sent a team, which included lead investigator Jeremy Warkentin to investigate the cause of the crash.^[8] Although the aircraft was not equipped with a full flight data recorder, the cockpit voice recorder was recovered.^[10][8]

A preliminary report was released sometime in March 2024, which confirmed what was known and revealed what the conditions were at the time the accident aircraft attempted to takeoff.^[8]

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) classified the investigation as Class 2, indicating a complex investigation with an expected duration of up to 600 days. The investigation team has conducted multiple interviews, analyzed good-quality CVR data, and reviewed CCTV footage from fuelling, passenger loading, and departure. Examination of the engines and propellers revealed no anomalies, and aircraft performance analysis determined that snow on critical surfaces did not negatively affect performance. The investigation is currently focusing on human performance and decision-making elements. The TSB is in the report-writing phase, with an initial draft under internal review, and no safety communications have been issued as of January 2025. A final report will be released upon completion of the investigation.^[11]

As of May 2025, icing has been ruled out as a factor.^[8]