Report Finds BC Heljson Pilot Fell Ill with Fever in Days Prior to Fatal Crash
The Transportation Safety Board revealed that a helicopter pilot who tragically perished in a crash in British Columbia nearly two years ago had been unwell in the days leading up to the accident. The pilot reported “shivering uncontrollably” before the helicopter went down.
According to the board’s report on the crash in November 2022 near Kitsault, B.C., the helicopter was on a surveying flight when the pilot expressed feeling “unwell” around an hour and a half after takeoff. The helicopter ultimately crashed into a heavily forested mountainside, resulting in the pilot’s death and the destruction of the aircraft.
Despite the investigation, the safety board was unable to fully understand the circumstances surrounding the fatal crash due to the absence of flight data recording equipment in the helicopter’s cockpit.
The report mentioned that the pilot, who was over 65 years old and had recent medical certification, had a history of vertigo. However, the feverish symptoms and shivering during the flight indicated that he likely experienced some form of incapacitation before the crash.
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The Transportation Safety Board has previously suggested that flight data recorders should be mandatory on commercial and private aircraft to aid in accident investigations. This recommendation was driven by a fatal airplane crash in 2016 that claimed four lives.
Despite Transport Canada agreeing to this suggestion, the board noted delays in implementing the required changes, pushing the timeline for regulatory updates to 2025 for further analysis.
