c/n 176

FAC-931 • N11251

CF-HAS

x

• FAC-931 Chilean Air Force / Fuerza Aérea de Chile. Delivered on 30th May 1957.

Attached to the Grupo de Aviación N° 5. At Base Aérea La Chamiza / Puerto Mont, Chile.

Accident: Location unknown. 30-Apr-1966. Details unknown but struck off charge.

Total time: 1,587hrs at time of accident.

• N11251 Ferrer Aviation Inc., Miami, FL. Regd Jul-1969.

Note: Refurbished, including installation of an engine (purchased without) and made ready for sale by Aero Facilities Corporation at the Miami International Airport - KMIA.

• CF-HAS Hooker Air Services Ltd., Pickle Lake, ON. Regd 14-Aug-1970.

Incident: Forced landing on un named lake. Apr-1971. Suffered an engine failure and force landed on lake. Engine changed on site “in difficult conditions”. Note from AvCanada forum. Nov-2015.

• CF-HAS Wings Aviation Ltd., Red Lake, ON. Regd 08-Feb-1978.

Hooker Air Service Otter CF-HAS April 1971. We are trying to turn it out of a strong east wind with a rope around the tail ski. Left to right: John Mummery, Herb Stoger, Al Ogilvie, Joe Mattawapit, Bill Carter.

Courtesy of “Antique Pilot” in AvCanada Forum.

Accident: Un-named lake 51.22 N 94.27 W, ON. 27-Oct-1980. The engine failed in flight and the pilot elected to land on the lake. On trying to restart the engine a fire erupted that consumed the aircraft. No injuries to any persons on board.

• Written off •

Otter 176 was delivered to the Chilean Air Force, the Fuerza Aerea de Chile, on 30th May 1957 with serial 931. The FAC acquired five Otters for light transport and general utility duties and all five aircraft left Downsview together on 30th May '57 for the mammoth delivery flight south to Santiago, Chile. The Otters were normally operated from small rural airfields in the south of the country, as well as on Easter Island and in the Antarctic.

931 was damaged in an accident and struck off charge on 30th April 1966 with 1,587 hours’ total time on the airframe. In 1968 the FAC advertised for sale its remaining Beaver and Otter aircraft.

Ferrer Aviation Inc. of Miami, Florida, a company responsible for returning many Otters to the US and Canada, were the purchasers. In July 1969, for 405,000 escudos, they purchased two Otters 930

(171) and 931 (176) both without engines and three Beavers (192, 316 and 370) in flying condition. Both Otters were transported to Miami where on 11th July 1969 Ferrer Aviation Inc. applied for registrations and were allocated N11250 (171) and N11251 (176). Both Otters were refurbished and made ready for sale by Aero Facilities Corp at the Miami International Airport on behalf of Ferrer Aviation. N11251 was noted at Miami in July 1970 painted in a yellow and black colour scheme. It was the first of the two Otters to be rebuilt, with the assistance of a $20,000 bank loan. The profit from the deal would go to finance the rebuild of the second aircraft.

The purchaser of the Otter was Hooker Air Services Ltd of Pickle Lake, Ontario. Frank Ferrer himself flew the Otter on its delivery flight from Miami to Toronto Island Airport, where it arrived on 6th August 1970. Here the American registration was cancelled and the Otter was registered CF-HAS (the HAS standing for Hooker Air Services) on 14th August '70. It then continued on to its new base at Pickle Lake, and flew for Hooker Air Services for more than seven years. It was then sold to Wings Aviation Ltd of Red Lake, Ontario to whom it was registered on 8th February 1978.

The Otter was involved in an incident at Reddit, Ontario on 26th April 1978 when its left wing tip struck a stationary aircraft while being taxied into a parking position. It continued in service with Wings Aviation until destroyed in an accident on 27th October 1980. The Otter was en route to Sabourin Lake when the engine failed in the cruise. The pilot landed on an un-named lake in Ontario (at position 51.22 North 94.27 West). While attempting to re-start the engine, a fire erupted which consumed the aircraft, although fortunately there were no injuries.

Full history courtesy of Karl E. Hayes © from DHC-3 Otter: A History (2005).