UPDATED Mar, 22 2025
PRELIMINARY REPORT
Source:
Transportation
Safety Board of Canada
Air
Transportation Safety Investigation A25O0021:
Preliminary
Report (released 20 March 2025).
Transportation
Safety Board of Canada 200 Promenade du Portage, 4th floor Gatineau QC K1A 1K8 819-994-3741;
1-800-387-3557 www.tsb.gc.ca communications@tsb.gc.ca
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada
(TSB)
On 17 February 2025
CL-600-2D24
aircraft (CRJ-900LR) (registration N932XJ, serial number 15194) was operating
as Endeavor Air flight EDV4819 from Minneapolis-Saint Paul
International/Wold-Chamberlain Airport (KMSP), Minnesota, United States, to
Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport (CYYZ), Ontario.
During the landing on Runway 23, the aircraft
impacted the runway, the right wing detached, and a fire ensued. The aircraft
overturned and slid down the runway inverted, coming to rest near the
intersection of Runway 23 and Runway 15L. Aircraft rescue and firefighting
responded, and all passengers and crew evacuated.
All times are Eastern Standard Time
(Coordinated Universal Time minus 5 hours).
At 12:47 (EST)[ 07:47 UTC]
Flight EDV4819, IFR [Instrument Flight Rules]
FROM: Departed (KMSP) Minneapolis-St. Paul International/World-Chamberlain
Airport Minnesota, United States,
TO: (CYYZ), Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport Ontario,
Canada
POB: 2
flight crew members, 2 cabin crew members, and 76 passengers on board.
The
captain was seated in the left seat and was the pilot-monitoring [PIC] for the flight. The first-officer was
seated in the right seat and was the pilot-flying
(PF).
The crew
received clearance for the instrument landing system approach to Runway 23 at
CYYZ.
Weather
The aerodrome routine meteorological report for CYYZ
issued at 1400 indicated the following:
• Winds from 270° true (T) at
28 knots, gusting to 35 knots
• Visibility 6 statute miles (SM) in blowing snow
• Runway visual range for Runway 24L variable between
3000 feet and more than 6000 feet with an upward trend
• Broken ceiling at 3400 feet AGL
• Temperature −9 °C and dew point −14 °C
• Altimeter setting 29.93 inches of mercury
• Remarks indicated cumulus clouds at 6 oktas
14:12:01 (EST) [09:12:01 UTC]
The aircraft descended through 500 feet above ground
level (AGL). The aircraft’s indicated airspeed was 150 knots, its ground speed
was 121 knots, and the engine thrust was indicating approximately 64% N1.3 The
rate of descent was 720 fpm, and the localizer and glide slope were centered.
Five seconds later, the PF disconnected the autopilot.
Flight
controls
The
flaps and slats were fully deployed at the time of the occurrence. The flap
jackscrew threads were measured to be 10 inches for both the left and right
inboard flap actuators (4 locations), which corresponds to 45° of flaps. Based
on measurements taken from the left slat, the slats were in a 25° position.
At the
time of the occurrence, the aircraft was being operated within its allowable
weight-and-balance limitations. The occurrence landing weight was approximately
73 000 pounds, and there was about 6000 pounds of fuel remaining at the time of
landing.
At
1412:26, while the aircraft was descending through 175 feet AGL, its indicated
airspeed was 144 knots, with a ground speed of 121 knots, and a rate of descent
of 672 fpm. The thrust remained at approximately 64% N1.
At
1412:30, while the aircraft was descending through 153 feet AGL, its indicated
airspeed increased to 154 knots whereas the ground speed did not change
appreciably, consistent with a performance-increasing wind gust. The PF pulled
back the thrust levers, and as a result, over the following 5 seconds, N1
decreased from 64% to approximately 43%, where it remained until touchdown. The
airspeed began to decrease.
At
1412:40 (3.6 seconds before touchdown), when the aircraft was at a height of 50
feet AGL, the indicated airspeed was 145 knots, and the ground speed was 112
knots. The rate of descent had increased to 1114 fpm. The enhanced ground
proximity warning system (EGPWS) aural alert “fifty” sounded to indicate the
aircraft was at 50 feet AGL, which is a standard callout.
One
second later (2.6 seconds before touchdown), the EGPWS alert “sink rate”
sounded, indicating a high rate of descent. The aircraft’s indicated airspeed
was 136 knots, its ground speed was 111 knots, and the rate of descent had
remained at about 1100 fpm. The bank angle increased to a 4.7° right bank. The
engine thrust was steady at approximately 43% N1.
At
1412:42 (1.6 seconds before touchdown), the aircraft’s indicated airspeed was
136 knots, and its ground speed was 111 knots. The aircraft was slightly below
the glide slope, but on the visual segment of the approach and tracking the
runway centreline. The rate of descent had increased to 1072 fpm, and the bank
angle was 5.9° to the right.
Less
than 1 second before touchdown, the aircraft’s indicated airspeed was 134
knots, and its ground speed was 111 knots. The bank angle was 7.1° to the
right, and the pitch attitude was 1° nose up. The rate of descent was recorded
as 1110 fpm.
At
1412:43.6, the right main landing gear (MLG) contacted the runway. The aircraft
was in a 7.5° bank to the right with 1° of nose-up pitch and 3g vertical
acceleration, at a rate of descent of approximately 1098 fpm (18.3 fps).
At
touchdown, the following occurred: the side-stay that is attached to the right
MLG fractured, the landing gear folded into the retracted position, the wing
root fractured between the fuselage and the landing gear, and the wing detached
from the fuselage, releasing a cloud of jet fuel, which caught fire. The exact
sequence of these events is still to be determined by further examination of
the fracture surfaces.
The
aircraft then began to slide along the runway. The fuselage slid down Runway
23, rolling to the right until it became inverted. A large portion of the tail,
including most of the vertical stabilizer and the entire horizontal stabilizer,
became detached during the roll.
The
aircraft went off the right side of the runway into the snow-covered grass area
and came to a rest on Runway 15L, near the intersection with Runway 23, about
75 feet beyond the right edge of Runway 23 (Figure 1). The right wing,
including the right MLG, became fully detached from the aircraft and slid
approximately 215 feet further along Runway 23.
Once the
aircraft came to a stop, an evacuation began. All occupants evacuated the
aircraft. At the time of writing this preliminary report, it has been confirmed
that 21 of the 80 occupants were injured; 2 of those occupants were reported to
have serious injuries.
Company
landing standard operating procedures
The
flight operations manual indicates to initiate the flare between 30 and 20 feet
AGL by increasing pitch attitude as needed to slow the descent rate while
continuing to reduce thrust to idle. At 20 feet, back pressure on the control
column is to be maintained as necessary to hold a constant pitch angle. In
addition, the manual states that the pitch attitude at touchdown should be
between 3° and 8°, depending on the landing reference speed (VREF) of the
aircraft. If the pitch attitude exceeds 11°, there is a risk of a tail strike.5
Also, a hard landing is defined as “[a] landing at a vertical descent rate
greater than 600 ft/min when the aircraft's gross weight is less than or equal
to MLW [maximum landing weight].
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