Air Canada 621 CVR Transcript (2024)

The deadliest accident at Toronto Pearson International Airport took place on July 5, 1970, when Air Canada Flight 621, a Douglas DC-8 registered CF-TIW, was flying on a Montreal-Toronto-Los Angeles route.

Captain Peter Hamilton and First Officer Donald Rowland had flown on various flights together before, and had an ongoing discussion on when to arm the spoilers. They both agreed they did not like arming them at the beginning of the final approach, fearing it could lead to an inadvertent spoiler deployment. The captain preferred arming them on the ground, while the copilot preferred arming them during the flare.

The flare is executed just above the runway, causing the plane's nose to rotate up. That ensures the nose wheel does not contact the runway first, and it also reduces the rate of descent so that the main wheels will not impact the runway too hard. The thrust of the engines is reduced to idle at the same time, causing the speed of the plane to slow significantly.

The pilots made an agreement that, when the captain was piloting the aircraft, the first officer would arm the spoilers on the ground, as the captain preferred, and when the first officer was piloting the aircraft, the captain would arm them on the flare as copilot preferred.

Air Canada 621 CVR Transcript (1)

This is a picture of an Air Canada DC-8, similar to the one flown in Air Canada Flight 621. On this particular instance however, the captain was piloting the landing and said, "All right. Give them to me on the flare. I have given up." This was not their usual routine. Sixty feet from the runway, the captain began to reduce power in preparation for the flare and said, "Okay" to the first officer. The first officer immediately armed and deployed the spoilers. The aircraft began to sink heavily and the captain, realising what had happened, pulled back on the control column and applied full throttle to all four engines. The nose lifted, but the aircraft still continued to sink, hitting the runway with enough force that the number four engine and pylon broke off from the wing. Realising what he had done, the first officer began apologizing to the captain. The aircraft eventually managed to lift off for a go-around, but the lost fourth engine had torn off a piece of the lower wing plating and the aircraft was now trailing fuel, which ignited. The first officer requested a second landing attempt on the same runway but was told it was closed due to debris and was directed to another runway.

Two and a half minutes after the initial collision, the outboard section of the right wing above engine number four exploded, causing parts of the wing to break off. Six seconds after this explosion, another explosion occurred in the area of the number three engine, causing the pylon and engine to both break off and fall to the ground in flames. Six and a half seconds after the second explosion, another explosion occurred, destroying most of the right wing, including the wing tip. The aircraft then went into a violent nose dive, striking the ground at a high velocity and killing all 100 passengers and the nine crew members on board.

The mishap was the first Air Canada accident involving fatalities since November, 1963, when another DC-8, Flight 831, also bound from Montreal to Toronto, crashed with a loss of 118 lives. Wreckage, bodies, bits of clothing and women's pocketbooks were strewn for more than 100 yards beyond the impact spot. The plane dug a furrow eight or 10 feet deep, less than 200 feet from a house in which a family of 10 persons lived.

Recovery and identification of bodies proceeded slowly. More than 20 of the passengers were United States citizens, all of them listed as being from Southern California.

Air Canada 621 CVR Transcript (2)

Transcript of the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR)

SourceContent
FONice day
CABeautiful
FOThat's where old (unintelligible) lives there I guess. What do they call it? High Park?
CAOh
FOThose apartments there. See them? The high-rise there
FOYes It looks over the (unintelligible). It's quite a good view out over the lake there.
SOThe housing in Toronto is out of this world. Expensive, yeah.
FOYeah, expensive all right.
FOYeah, a lot of people have made a lot of money.
CAYeah, Ill say.
CAFour for three
FOFour for three
[click click click]
APPAir Canda 621 is cleared for the vectored ILS. Take course 32 and turn right to 230 final and four miles
RDO-FORoger
APP230
RDO-FORoger. 230.
APPYou are currently three and a half east of the marker
RDO-FO621
CABefore landing
[clunk. An increase in background noise]
FO2975
APP621 right turn now to heading 28. You are three to the marker
FOCheck three green. Four pressures. Spoilers.
FONo (unintelligible) on the green
CAAll right. Give them to me on the flare. I have given up.
FO(laughing)
CAI am tired of fighting it.
SOFuel (panel) set
CAThank you
CAThirty-five flap
FOThirty-five
FO142
APPAir Canada 621 right around to 310 to intercept the back course. Turn into 187. Good day
RDO-FOMaintain 310 (roger). Goodday
RDO-FOToronto tower. Air Canada 621. Approaching the whisky
TWR621 stil depart to 727
[apparent power increase]
FOWell it's pretty late
CAYeah
FOSurprise (unintelligible)
CALanding flap
FO129
CA134 5
[apparent power decrease]
RDO-FO621 is by the whisky
TWR621 roger. Check (your) gear down
FOGear down
SOSpoilers to go in the (unintelligible)
CAOkay, thanks
[apparent power increase]
[whistling]
CAHo Ho Ho
CAWell that's right on the VASIS. We are little below the glide though
FOYeah you are right
CAIt's going to be rougher than a gut. Look at that stuff laying there on the runway
[apparent power decrease]
FOGet that thing off the ground. He is leaving a smoke screen for you, just to make it a little challenging
TWR621 cleared to land on runway 32
RDO-FO621
CAMy IFR approach here unknown. Heh, heh, heh
FOHere we have a green. The VASIS appear to be a little bit high but you are low on the glide path
FOTakes a whole airfield that way
CAYeah
CAOkay
[apparent power reduction]
CANo. No. No
FOSorry, of sorry, Pete!
[apparent power increase]
[noise of impact]
FOSorry Pete!
CAOkay
CAWe have lost our power
[exclamation]
TWRAir Canada 621. Check you on the overshoot and you can contact departure on 199 or do you wish to come in for a mile on 5 right
CAWe'll go around. I think we are all right
RDO FORoger. We are go all the way (around)
TWROkay contact departure
FORoger 199
CAGet the gear up please, Don
[sound of horn]
FOWhat about the flap
CAFlap 25
FOSorry. What was (unintelligible)
SONumber 4 generator is gone
CAOkay, get the cross-feed off first (though). Good (unintelligible)
CAWill you give the approach a call?
[Sound of middle marker signal]
RDO-FOToronto Approach Control. Air Canada 621 is overshooting on 32.
DEPAir Canada 621 confirm on the overhoot
RDO-FOAffirmative
DEPOkay, sir. Your intentions please.
RDO-FORoger. We would like to circle back for anothr attempt on 32.
DEPOkay. Runway is closed. Debris on the runway. Twenty three left - it is probably about the best. The wind is northwest about 10 to 15. Turn right heading 070 3000 feet.
RDO-FORight 070 roger 3000
DEPRoger 621
CAWe've lost number 4 engine
FOHave we?
CA(unintelligible)
SOFuel
SOFuel
CAAye?
SOFuel
CAIs it?
FOYes
CAOkay, cut number 4
?ONumber 4 engine
CAYes
?ONumber 3 engine
CANumber 4
?ONumber 4, right.
CANumber 3 is jammed, too
FOIs it?
CAThere it is.
CAThe whole thing is jammed.
[crackling noise]
FOWhat was that?
FOWhat happened there, Peter?
CAThat't number 4 (unintelligible) Something's happened (unintelligible)
FOOh, look, we've got a (unintelligible).
[loud sound of explosion]
FOPete, sorry.
[louder sound of explosion]
CAAll right.
DEP621. The status of your aircraft, please.
[sound of metal tearing]
CAWe've got an explosion
FOOh look, we've got (unintelligible) flame
FOOh, gosh
??We've lost a wing
[end of transcript]
Air Canada 621 CVR Transcript (2024)

FAQs

What happened to Air Canada 621? ›

Air Canada Flight 621 was an Air Canada Douglas DC-8, registered as CF-TIW, that crashed on July 5, 1970, while attempting to land at Toronto International Airport. It was flying on a Montreal–Toronto–Los Angeles route. It crashed in Toronto Gore Township, now part of Brampton.

Who was on the crew of Air Canada Flight 621? ›

Air Canada Flight 621 was scheduled to fly from Montreal to Los Angeles, with a stopover in Toronto. The flight crew consisted of Captain Peter Hamilton, First Officer Donald Rowland, and Flight Engineer Harry Hill.

Was the Woodbridge Arena used as a morgue? ›

To this point in time, it was the second worst aviation accident in Canadian history. The arena served as a morgue for the victims of this crash. Today, the arena stands in memory of those who perished. In 1975, the Woodbridge Vaughan Pool opened on the site.

When was the last time an Air Canada plane crashed? ›

datetypelocation
25-DEC-2021Airbus A330-343Montreal-Pierre ...
03-FEB-2020Boeing 767-375ERMadrid-Barajas A...
02-AUG-2019Boeing 787-8Vancouver Intern...
11-DEC-2018Boeing 777-333ERHong Kong-Chek L...
25 more rows

Which country owns Air Canada? ›

Air Canada became fully privatized in 1989, and its variable voting shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:AC), and, since 29 July 2016, on OTCQX International Premier in the US under the single ticker symbol "ACDVF". As of April 2021, the Government of Canada owns approximately 6.4% of Air Canada.

What if a plane hit the CN Tower? ›

No, it would not collapse. The CN Tower is basically three solid concrete pillars in a triangular arrangement with elevators between them and with an occupied main pod and higher up observation deck. If the aircraft hit the pod, it would not doubt destroy it but the tower would not come down.

Where was the first morgue? ›

The word morgue comes from the name of a building, originally in Paris, where bodies were laid out for identification. The term was more generally adopted in the 1880s to describe the place where autopsies were performed.

Has Air Canada ever had a fatal crash? ›

A commemorative plaque has been placed at Purple Lilac Memorial Park to honour all those who lost their lives on Air Canada Flight 621. In memory of the passengers and crew of Flight 621 who lost their lives in this field on July 5, 1970.

How safe are Air Canada planes? ›

4 spot worldwide for safety, behind Cathay Pacific, Emirates, and Taiwan's EVA Air. AirlineRatings.com gave the airline a seven-out-of-seven safety rating. Air Canada is among the biggest airlines in the world in terms of the size of its fleet, with about 400 aircraft, and is the largest air carrier in Canada.

What are the safest airlines? ›

Spirit tops list for safest airline
  • Spirit Airlines.
  • Alaska Airlines.
  • Frontier Airlines.
  • Skywest Airlines.
  • American Airlines.
  • Delta Airlines.
  • JetBlue Airways.
  • Hawaiian Airlines.
May 2, 2024

Why did Air Canada remove passengers? ›

Updated Sept. 5, 2023 at 4:45 p.m. Air Canada has apologized to two passengers who were reportedly escorted off their flight by security after refusing to sit in allegedly vomit-covered seats.

Why did Air Canada stock crash? ›

Air Canada reports wider-than-expected loss, shares drop

North American carriers are wrestling with higher costs as they add flights and operate older, less fuel-efficient planes, with shortages of new aircraft making it harder to capitalize on strong travel demand.

Why did Air Canada buy the 737 Max? ›

Air Canada chose the 737 MAX because at the time it was the newer and 'more reliable' option. Air Canada had also been very happy with they role that their newly purchased 787s played, and they decided that Boeing had their support.

What happened to Canadian Pacific Airlines? ›

The brand name changed to Canadian Airlines International (CP) but, in 2000, the new CP was finally taken over and merged with AC. Featured image: CP Air Douglas DC-6B, C-FCUS. Photo: Ken Fielding/https://www.flickr.com/photos/kenfielding, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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