Minutes after takeoff from Toronto, much of the cowling separated from the left-engine nacelle on a Cessna 560 Encore, causing the airplane to suddenly yaw, roll left, and drop 20,000 ft in altitude. The flight crew briefly lost control and declared an emergency, then stopped the descent and diverted to Buffalo, New York, U.S., to land, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) says.
One of the three passengers was seriously injured, and the two other passengers and both pilots received minor injuries in the accident, which resulted in serious damage to the airplane.
In its final report on the Jan. 27, 2023, accident, the TSB said its investigation had found that after maintenance four days earlier, six cowling fasteners were left unsecured.
“The non-sequential order in which the fasteners were tightened likely led to a slip of attention that combined with an unclear expectation on the part of both aircraft maintenance engineers [AMEs] about who would…
