Incident Overview
Description
Wasaya Flight 125 departed Pickle Lake (YPL) at 20:57 with an estimated arrival time of 21:36 at Sumer Beaver (SUR). The pilot flew a direct visual flight rules (VFR) routing to Summer Beaver at 3500 feet asl under night visual meteorological conditions (VMC). Ten minutes before landing at Summer Beaver, the pilot broadcast his intentions and activated the aircraft radio control of aerodrome lighting (ARCAL) of the airfield. Witnesses on the ground saw the aircraft’s lights as it joined the downwind leg of the airport traffic circuit. During the approach the airplane lost control and struck heavily wooded terrain in a near vertical attitude with the wings level. FINDINGS AS TO CAUSES AND CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: The aircraft departed controlled flight and struck terrain for undetermined reasons. FINDINGS AS TO RISK: The company’s flight-following procedures for flights operating in remote areas were impractical and were not consistently applied; this could compromise timely search and rescue operations following an accident. OTHER FINDINGS: The aircraft did not carry flight recorders. Lack of information about the cause of this accident affects TSB’s ability to identify related safety deficiencies and to issue safety communications intended to prevent accidents that could occur under similar circumstances.
Primary Cause
Unimplemented Flight Following ProceduresUnimplemented Flight Following ProceduresShare on:
