Emergency landing
Jazz Aviation LP
MHI RJ Aviation CRJ-900
Los Angeles, California, USA
The occurrence
A Jazz Aviation LP MHI RJ-900 aircraft was conducting a flight from San Diego, California, to Vancouver, British Columbia, with 69 passengers and 4 crew members on board.
The aircraft began its takeoff to the left of the runway centerline, where it contacted 3 runway edge lights before its trajectory was corrected.
During the aircraft’s climb, a fuel imbalance was detected. The flight crew was not able to correct the imbalance and subsequently shut down the right engine. An emergency was declared and the aircraft diverted to Los Angeles International Airport.
The aircraft was stopped and remained on the runway after landing. Airport rescue and fire flighting (ARFF) personnel advised that the no. 1 tire from the left main landing gear was deflated and smoke was coming from the wheel. The left main landing gear was sprayed by ARFF and the smoke dissipated. Passengers were disembarked and transported to the terminal.
Maintenance crews repaired the aircraft for it to be flown back to Canada on a ferry flight permit for further repairs. The US National Transportation Safety Board delegated the investigation to the TSB in accordance with ICAO Annex 13 Section 5.1.2/3.
Investigation information
A21F0210
Emergency landing
Jazz Aviation LP
MHI RJ Aviation CRJ-900
Los Angeles, California, USA
Investigator-in-charge
Kent Wickens is a Regional Senior Investigator in the Air Investigations Branch, at the Pacific Regional Office in Richmond, British Columbia. Mr. Wickens has over 20 years of experience working as a pilot in the aviation industry. He began his aviation career as a flight instructor and moved to Northern Alberta to fly passenger and freight charters, before gaining a position with an airline. He flew there for 17 years with some time as a First Officer on the Boeing 727 and the majority of his career as a Captain on the Convair 580. Prior to joining the Transportation Safety Board in 2019, Mr. Wickens worked for 5 years as an investigator and a manager with Transport Canada’s Enforcement Branch.
Mr. Wickens holds an Airline Transport Licence – Aeroplane and has more than 8500 hours of flying experience.
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Class of investigation
This is a class 2 investigation. These investigations are complex and involve several safety issues requiring in-depth analysis. Class 2 investigations, which frequently result in recommendations, are generally completed within 600 days. For more information, see the Policy on Occurrence Classification.
TSB investigation process
There are 3 phases to a TSB investigation
- Field phase: a team of investigators examines the occurrence site and wreckage, interviews witnesses and collects pertinent information.
- Examination and analysis phase: the TSB reviews pertinent records, tests components of the wreckage in the lab, determines the sequence of events and identifies safety deficiencies. When safety deficiencies are suspected or confirmed, the TSB advises the appropriate authority without waiting until publication of the final report.
- Report phase: a confidential draft report is approved by the Board and sent to persons and corporations who are directly concerned by the report. They then have the opportunity to dispute or correct information they believe to be incorrect. The Board considers all representations before approving the final report, which is subsequently released to the public.
For more information, see our Investigation process page.
The TSB is an independent agency that investigates air, marine, pipeline, and rail transportation occurrences. Its sole aim is the advancement of transportation safety. It is not the function of the Board to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.