Britten-Norman safety

Contamination by snow, an over-gross-weight condition and the pilot’s failure to adhere to the recommended wind shear recovery procedure affected the air-taxi aircraft’s performance during departure from an airport in Canada. The aircraft stalled and descended into a river, where three survivors later drowned.

On an IFR approach, at night, the pilot requested and received clearance for a visual approach. The airport overflight and environs were not identified by the pilot; the aircraft crashed into high ground in the extension of its arrival route, eight nautical miles from the airport.