"RCMP Supt. Howard Eaton said Aug. 24 that the girl recalled the plane was making its final approach and that everything looked normal."
“She said she was looking out the window and she could see the buildings [of Resolute Bay] as they approached,” said RCMP Supt. Howard Eaton, “and then, bam - they hit the hill.”
The survivor testimony seems to suggest that they DID NOT do an ILS/DME 35T circling for 17T. That would have required an increase in power to level off, and then at least two turns to get lined up 1 mile downwind where they crashed. The passengers would have noticed that.
It does sound more like they did a straight in approach and then hit the hill. That could support the theories of them accidentally approaching on the VOR instead of the ILS.
I am still puzzled by reports that they reported 3 miles final and then hit the hill 10 minutes later.