Coroner investigating fatal plane crash near Fort Smith, N.W.T. – CBC

Jan 23, 2024

Aircraft carrying Diavik employees went down 500 metres from end of airport runway Tuesday morning

A Northwestern Air plane that crashed Tuesday near Fort Smith, N.W.T. killing multiple people was carrying workers to Rio Tinto’s Diavik diamond mine.

The N.W.T. coroner’s office has confirmed there were fatalities, though it’s not yet known how many people died. It also isn’t known how many people were on board the British Aerospace Jetstream aircraft when it crashed. The aircraft can seat up to 19 people.

Fort Smith, a town of about 2,250, is located about 740 kilometres south of Yellowknife, just north of the Alberta border.

In a statement Tuesday night, Rio Tinto said it is working with authorities and has offered to help however it can with efforts to find out what happened.