Canadian investigators have disclosed that a De Havilland Dash 8-300 sustained collision damage after a parking-brake failure caused it to roll forward during engine start-up.
The Perimeter Aviation turboprop had been preparing for a service to Winnipeg from the remote Lansdowne House airport in Ontario on 10 August.
According to a Transportation Safety Board of Canada bulletin, the crew had first started the right-hand Pratt & Whitney Canada PW123 engine – as was normal – while the parking-brake was set.
But chafing had resulted in a brake flex line being holed, says the bulletin, and the Dash 8 began to roll forward towards a chain-link fence.
The left-hand engine – which supplies hydraulic power to the regular braking system – had yet to be started, so the crew was unable to stop the aircraft.
Although the pilots shut down the right-hand engine, they could not prevent the aircraft from colliding with the fence and then a pick-up truck parked on the other side.
The Dash 8 suffering damage to its radome but there were no injuries among the 30 occupants.
Transportation Safety Board identifies the aircraft involved as C-GJYZ, originally delivered in 1994 to South African operator SA Express.
Maintenance personnel replaced the damaged brake line and radome, and the aircraft has been returned to service.
