ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 253987
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| Date: | Sunday 25 April 2021 |
| Time: | 16:32 LT |
| Type: |  Eurocopter AS 350B2 Ecureuil |
| Owner/operator: | Great Slave Helicopters Ltd |
| Registration: | C-FYDA |
| MSN: | 4157 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2006 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 8250 hours |
| Engine model: | Turbomeca Arriel 1D1 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Griffith Island, about 22 kilometres southwest of Resolute Bay, NU -
 Canada
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Aerial patrol |
| Departure airport: | |
| Resolute Airport, NU (YRB/CYRB) | |
| Investigating agency: | TSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
At approximately 15:50 Central Daylight Time on 25 April 2021, a Great Slave Helicopters' AS 350B2 (registration C-FYDA) departed a remote camp located on Russell Island, Nunavut on a day VFR flight to Resolute Bay Airport, Nunavut (CYRB). On board was the pilot, an aircraft maintenance engineer, and a biologist. While flying over Griffith Island, approximately 12 nautical miles southwest of CYRB, the helicopter impacted the snow-covered terrain at approximately 16:32 Central Daylight Time. The aircraft was destroyed; however, the emergency locator transmitter did not transit a distress signal to the search and rescue satellites. A post-crash fire consumed much of the fuselage area. There were no survivors.
The crash occurred on a trip to survey the Lancaster Sound polar bear population for the Nunavut Department of Environment.
Findings as to causes and contributing factors:
1. Great Slave Helicopters’ management process overestimated the occurrence pilot’s level of operational readiness and the ability of existing defences to mitigate the risk posed by flat light and whiteout conditions. As a result, the occurrence pilot was dispatched to conduct remote operations, above the tree line, with insufficient safeguards to ensure adequate safety margins were maintained.
2. The current regulations for day visual flight rules helicopter operations focus primarily on defences designed to avoid inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IIMC). Consequently, there was no requirement for the occurrence pilot to be trained for, or for the aircraft to be equipped with technology that would assist with, recovery from an IIMC encounter.
3. Great Slave Helicopters adopted an approach consistent with the current regulations that relies on a pilot’s ability to avoid inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IIMC). As a result, the occurrence pilot lacked the skills to recover from the IIMC.
4. The pilot’s decision to depart was based on an incomplete understanding of the weather forecasted along the intended route. As a result, it is likely that his inaccurate mental model diminished the perceived importance of contingency planning for adverse weather.
5. The pilot’s limited experience operating above the tree line during the winter and spring months likely lowered his perception of risk, influencing the decision to continue flight over featureless snow-covered terrain under overcast skies and poor visibility, conditions that were conducive to flat light and whiteout.
6. When the helicopter, being operated under day visual flight rules, approached the highest elevation on Griffith Island, the uniformly snow-covered and featureless terrain, an overcast sky, and snow squalls likely created a flat light and whiteout conditions that resulted in instrument meteorological conditions.
7. While the pilot was likely attempting to visually manoeuvre the helicopter in response to inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions, an unintentional descent resulted in the helicopter impacting the terrain on a near-reciprocal track to the intended route.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/three-dead-in-helicopter-crash-near-resolute-bay
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/helicopter-accident-resolute-griffith-island-1.6002456
https://cabinradio.ca/60949/news/three-people-pass-away-in-helicopter-accident-near-resolute-bay/
CADORS #2021C1524
TSB
https://cdn.jetphotos.com/full/5/82904_1408595847.jpg (photo)
Location
Images:
Photo: TSB Canada
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 26-Apr-2021 18:35 | gerard57 | Added |
| 26-Apr-2021 18:56 | Aerossurance | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Nature, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 26-Apr-2021 18:58 | Aerossurance | Updated [Location, Phase, Embed code] |
| 27-Apr-2021 05:20 | Aerossurance | Updated [Nature, Source, Narrative] |
| 28-Apr-2021 18:04 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Source, Narrative] |
| 13-May-2021 14:51 | harro | Updated [Time, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 15-Feb-2024 18:09 | ASN | Updated [Narrative, Accident report] |
| 15-Feb-2024 18:10 | ASN | Updated [Embed code, Photo] |
| 16-Feb-2024 08:30 | ASN | Updated [[Embed code, Photo]] |
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