Helicopter companies shouldn’t rely on pilots staying in the right kind of weather to keep them safe, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada has concluded in its report into a fatal crash near Fort Chipewyan.
A Bell 206L helicopter operated by Hanley Heli Service came down near the northern Alberta community on February 12, 2024.
The pilot had been told weather conditions were worsening but didn’t make it back to the airport before that weather arrived. In reduced visibility, “the helicopter flew over the snow-covered lake surface under an overcast sky and in falling snow,” the TSB stated. “Shortly after, it collided with the frozen lake surface, fatally injuring the pilot, who was the sole occupant.”
The TSB calls this IIMC – inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions – meaning a situation where a pilot trained to rely on visual references suddenly finds themselves without any.
“This is not an isolated case,” the safety board stated in a news release accompanying the publication of its final report into the accident.
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The TSB said another example occurred in Nunavut in 2021. Three years after that fatal crash, the TSB made four recommendations to Transport Canada, the federal agency tasked with implementing safety changes across the country.
Those recommendations were to:
- require that helicopter companies ensure pilots are trained to recover from IIMC;
- require that the same companies add technology to help pilots in that situation;
- ensure firms have standard operating procedures for this sort of occurrence; and
- enhance requirements for operators to ensure their pilots “have an acceptable level of protection against” IIMC accidents.
On Wednesday, the TSB said the pilot in the Fort Chipewyan incident “had limited experience and minimal training in recovering from IIMC.”
The safety board said many firms use what it called the “avoid at all costs” approach, relying on pilots to recognize and avoid weather conditions that could result in IIMC.
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Until action is taken on its recommendations, the TSB said, “the risks to pilots and passengers will remain, and more lives will be lost.”
“Helicopter pilots must have the tools and training that they need to recover from IIMC. Relying solely on avoidance isn’t a strategy, it’s a gamble that leaves lives at risk,” TSB chair Yoan Marier was quoted as saying.
“The TSB has made recommendations to Transport Canada, but helicopter operators don’t need to wait to give pilots the training and the tools they need to recover from it.”
Transport Canada has been approached for comment.
The TSB said Hanley Heli Service had upgraded flight displays and added “an advanced online learning system for all flight crew” since the 2024 crash.
