YELLOWKNIFE, N.W.T. – A new report from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has concluded that engine failure and excess weight led to the August 19, 2013 crash of a Buffalo Airways DC-3C aircraft. The passenger flight lifted off at 5:08 p.m. that day from Yellowknife with three crew members and 21 passengers, scheduled to land at Hay River, but a fire broke out in the right engine shortly after takeoff. After an emergency engine shutdown and a right turn towards another runway, the plane collided with a stand of trees and hit the ground with the landing gear retracted. There were no injuries to any of the crew or passengers. According to the TSB’s report, published on April 27, the airline did not have a sufficient Safety Management System to identify or deal with safety risks, which had led to unsafe practices, such as the Yellowknife plane exceeding maximum takeoff weight. In addition, Transport Canada (TC) had failed to address such unsafe practices. The investigation also found that a cylinder failure in the right engine had sparked the fire. “If TC does not adopt a balanced approach that combines inspections for compliance with audits of safety management processes,” the report read, “unsafe operating practices may not be identified, thereby increasing the risk of accidents.”