AIN Staff

<p>The pilot and sole occupant of a Bell 206B died when he apparently lost situational awareness and control of his aircraft in rain and smoke conditions shortly after takeoff from a remote lake in southeast Manitoba. This conclusion came from a recently released Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) <a href="http://www.bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/2013/a13c0073/a13c0073.asp">final report</a> into the July 2013 accident. The experienced pilot held 10,500 hours total flight time, including 8,500 in the Bell 206, although his lack of an instrument rating meant he was limited to VFR conditions. The pilot had, however, received company training for VFR flight in reduced visibility conditions normally limited to one-mile visibility in uncontrolled airspace. He completed required decision-making training and was aware of the rule that required the helicopter be operated at reduced speed to provide the PIC with adequate opportunity to see and avoid obstacles, the TSB said. On the day of the accident, the weather began to deteriorate near 1700 local, so the pilot departed home base early and landed safely on the shoreline of Gull Lake to await his passengers. However, the passengers had canceled the return flight, so the pilot decided to return to base in weather estimated to be a 500-foot ceiling and one-half-mile visibility in rain and smoke emanating from a nearby forest fire. No radio messages were received from him after departure. Some wreckage–approximately 10 percent of the helicopter–was found the next morning half a mile from the shore. The TSB believes the helicopter hit the water at high speed in a 40-degree right bank and at a nose-down pitch of approximately 40 degrees. Due to the small amount of total wreckage recovered, the Safety Board said it could not completely rule out the loss of control caused by a mechanical failure.</p>
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Helicopter Accident Attributed To Loss of Control

Canadian investigators recovered very little of the helicopter’s fuselage.

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