An aircraft’s emergency landing on a Manitoba road in 2023 was due to “fuel exhaustion,” according to a report from the Transportation Safety Board released on Wednesday. The landing took place on Nov. 2, 2023, on a gravel road near St. Andrews Airport during a multi-leg flight. The plane, a Piper PA-31-350 owned by Eagle Air Enterprises, went to Winnipeg Richardson International Airport and to Sachigo Lake Airport in Ontario, and was going to return to St. Andrews on the same route. The plane had one pilot and six passengers on board. According to the report, the left engine failed due to a lack of fuel and the pilot declared an emergency. “The pilot notified the [St. Andrews Airport] control tower that the aircraft did not have enough fuel to reach the airport and that he would instead make an emergency landing on a gravel road,” the report reads. The plane landed on a gravel road almost six nautical miles north of the airport. There were no injuries to anyone on board and the plane was not damaged. The pilot had an appropriate licence and 898 total flying hours, according to the report. It was their first time flying to Sachigo Lake. An inspection of the plane before the flight showed it was refuelled the day before. The pilot was intending to take two 20L jerry cans of fuel on board the aircraft if additional fuel was needed due to no fuel services available at Sachigo Lake. However, the extra fuel was deemed not necessary following a discussion with the operations manager/chief pilot, according to the report. Data from the plane’s GPS showed the plane climbed to higher altitudes than what was on the flight plan due to higher winds. “To avoid clouds during the multi-leg flight, the pilot climbed to higher altitudes and encountered less advantageous winds than those at the flight-planned altitude,” the report reads. “Consequently, the aircraft required more fuel than expected by the pilot, which led to fuel exhaustion.” The report states Eagle Air Enterprises has since met with its pilots to review flight plans and procedures.
