Margaree Airport plane accident caused by landing gear collapse

A Transportation Safety Board investigation has determined that a partial collapse of the landing gear is what sent a small plane off a runway in Cape Breton on Sunday.

The chartered Beechcraft A100 was carrying two crew members and two passengers when it tried to land at the Margaree Airport around 4 p.m. on Sunday. It veered off the runway and came to a stop in some trees.

No one was hurt, but the airplane was heavily damaged.

Mike Cunningham, the regional manager of air investigations for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, said problems developed just as the plane touched down.

"Shortly after that, the right-hand main gear started to collapse," he said Tuesday.

"The aircraft settled onto its right-hand side but the crew kept it going straight down the runway but then finally, as it slowed down, because of the drag on that right-hand wing and landing gear, it went off the right-hand side of the runway."

Cunningham said the board is trying to learn why the gear collapsed. He said investigating this type of crash is a high priority for the board because most airplane accidents occur on approaches and landings.