A Transportation Safety Board review of a helicopter crash near Fort Chipewyan called for change in the industry. Transport Canada says it’s working on it, but the progress made isn’t clear.
Earlier this week, the TSB issued its report into a fatal 2024 crash near Fort Chipewyan. A Bell 206L helicopter hit the ground after the pilot unexpectedly entered an area of reduced visibility.
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.
In its report, the TSB said it had previously recommended that pilots be given more training on what to do in that situation, as well as more equipment in the cockpit to help.
Until action is taken on those recommendations, the TSB said this week, “the risks to pilots and passengers will remain, and more lives will be lost.”
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While the TSB inspects safety measures and assesses what happened when things go wrong, it does not create or enforce the rules. That job falls to Transport Canada, the federal agency in charge.
Approached for comment on Wednesday, Transport Canada said on Thursday afternoon it was reviewing the latest TSB report.
“Transport Canada acknowledges the potential safety improvements that could result from integrating additional instruments into commercial helicopter operations,” a spokesperson stated by email, referring to the TSB’s recommendations.
The spokesperson said Transport Canada “has already taken significant steps in this area, such as examining the US Federal Aviation Administration’s initiative and proposing amendments in 2023 related to minimum visual meteorological conditions for VFR flights in both controlled and uncontrolled airspace.”
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VFR stands for visual flight rules, the regulations governing pilots who fly according to what they can see rather than relying on instruments.
While Transport Canada did propose changes to visual flight rules in 2023, including extra equipment for helicopters flying in reduced visibility, it is not clear that much has happened since. The agency’s Thursday statement to Cabin Radio added nothing further.
Last year, a national association of pilots and aircraft owners – which expressed opposition to some of the proposed amendments – said Transport Canada had “removed them from their current priorities” pending further consultation.
