Global InformationPropair Flight 420 information
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (April 2024) |
 A Fairchild Metroliner SSA26 similar to the aircraft involved in the crash | |
| Occurrence | |
|---|---|
| Date | 18 June 1998 |
| Summary | Structural failure following in-flight fire |
| Site | Montréal–Mirabel International Airport, Montréal, Quebec, Canada 45°40′47″N 74°02′19″W / 45.67972°N 74.03861°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Fairchild Metroliner SA226 |
| Operator | Propair |
| Call sign | PROPAIR 420 |
| Registration | C-GQAL |
| Flight origin | Dorval Airport, Montréal, Quebec, Canada |
| Destination | Peterborough Airport, Ontario, Canada |
| Passengers | 9 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Fatalities | 11 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Propair Flight 420 (PRO420) was a domestic charter flight from Montreal, Quebec to Peterborough, Ontario. The flight was carried out by Propair, a charter airline based in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, using a Fairchild Metroliner SA226. On 18 June 1998, the aircraft suffered an in-flight fire shortly after take-off from Dorval and the crew elected to conduct an emergency landing at Montréal–Mirabel International Airport. The intense heat of the fire caused a structural failure in the left wing during the landing and the aircraft crashed, resulting in the deaths of all 11 passengers and crew on board.
The investigation conducted by the Canadian Transportation Safety Board revealed that the left brakes of Flight 420 had overheated during take-off, causing a fire inside the wheel-well which destroyed warning systems, as a result of which the crew was unaware of the severity of the fire, which subsequently ruptured hydraulic pipe-lines and spread to the left wing.
Following the accident, the Canadian TSB issued several recommendations, one of which was a recommendation to the FAA regarding the crew training and flight manual, and another being a recommendation to install an overheat warning system inside the wheel-wells of every Metroliner; before the accident, warning systems were not required on such aircraft.