LJ35, vicinity Masset BC Canada, 1995
LJ35, vicinity Masset BC Canada, 1995
Summary
On 11 January 1995, a Learjet 35 on a medical positioning flight and carrying a medical team crashed into the sea while conducting an NDB approach to Masset, British Columbia, Canada. The most probable cause was considered to be a miss-set altimeter.
Flight Details
Aircraft
Operator
Type of Flight
Public Transport (Non Revenue)
Flight Origin
Intended Destination
Take-off Commenced
Yes
Flight Airborne
Yes
Flight Completed
No
Phase of Flight
Descent
Location
Location - Airport
Airport
General
Tag(s)
Non Precision Approach,
Altimeter Setting Error
CFIT
Tag(s)
Into water,
IFR flight plan
HF
Tag(s)
Data use error,
Ineffective Monitoring,
Violation
Outcome
Damage or injury
Yes
Aircraft damage
Hull loss
Non-aircraft damage
No
Non-occupant Casualties
No
Occupant Fatalities
Most or all occupants
Off Airport Landing
No
Ditching
No
Causal Factor Group(s)
Group(s)
Aircraft Operation
Safety Recommendation(s)
Group(s)
None Made
Investigation Type
Type
Independent
Cite This Page
SKYbrary Aviation Safety. (June 2, 2023). LJ35, vicinity Masset BC Canada, 1995. EUROCONTROL.
Retrieved February 2, 2026
from https://skybrary.aero/accidents-and-incidents/lj35-vicinity-masset-bc-canada-1995
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Description
On 11 January 1995, a GATES LEARJET Learjet 35, crashed into the sea while on a medical positioning flight and carrying a medical team conducting during an Non-Directional Beacon approach to Masset, British Columbia, Canada. The most probable cause was considered to be a miss-set altimeter.
Synopsis
The following is the synopsis from the official report into the accident produced by the Transport Safety Board (Canada):
"The Learjet 35 departed Vancouver International Airport, British Columbia, at 0035 Pacific standard time, on a one-hour medical evacuation flight to the Masset aerodrome in the Queen Charlotte Islands. On board the aircraft were two pilots and a medical team of three persons. During the instrument approach to runway 12 at Masset, the aircraft crashed into the ocean, eight nautical miles northwest of the Masset aerodrome. Intense Canadian military search and rescue operations, coupled with extensive civilian underwater searching, resulted in finding the aircraft wreckage and the bodies of two of the occupants; the other three occupants are presumed to have also perished in the accident. The aircraft was destroyed.
The Board determined that the crew most likely conducted the instrument approach with reference to an unintentionally miss-set altimeter of 30.17 in-Hg (≈ 1021.68 mbar), and unknowingly flew the aircraft into the water. The circumstances leading to the incorrect altimeter setting could not be determined, nor was it determined why the crew did not detect the miss-set altimeter."
Related Articles
Further Reading
- For more information, see the full TSB report
