Summary Fire Survivors 119 (all) Date 22 March 1984 Survivor 119 (all) Crew count 5 | Passengers 114 Passenger count 114 | |
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Injuries (non-fatal) 27 (5 serious, 22 minor) Similar Aeroflot Flight 3519, Aeroservicios Ecuatorianos Flight 767, PBA Flight 1039, 1984 Biman Banglade, 1984 Balkan Bulgarian | ||
Pacific Western Airlines Flight 501 was a regularly scheduled flight from Calgary to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The aircraft caught fire during takeoff on March 22, 1984.
Accident description
The Boeing 737, registered C-GQPW, taxied from the gate at Calgary International Airport at 7:35 AM and proceeded to take off on runway 34, carrying five crew members and 114 passengers. At 7:42 AM, a loud popping sound was heard 20 seconds into the takeoff run. The aircraft began to vibrate and veer to the left, and a fire broke out in the rear of the aircraft. The pilot, Stan Fleming, managed to abort the take-off.
An emergency evacuation was ordered as the fire spread throughout the aircraft. Five people were seriously injured and 22 suffered minor injuries, but no-one was killed. The aircraft was destroyed by the fire.
The fire was attributed to a faulty compressor disc that blew apart, rupturing the fuel tanks. This incident was similar to the cause of the British Airtours Flight 28M disaster that claimed 55 lives in 1985.